My Redeemer Lives!

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

For Mom and Dad

The Apology


If there were time to speak the words that now are on my mind

I'd make things right between us

for so often I was unkind.

So many worries, troubles, caused to those who truly cared.

A father and a mothers love,

neglected and despaired.

Quick hellos, hurried goodbyes

they never seemed to notice;

I love yous' spewed in rapid fire; guilty downcast eyes,

my special tool avoidance.

Sorrow is so hard to bear alone; guilt even harder

To know of your forgiveness

would make the long nights better.

Another day, a week, is gone and soon another year

But still the heart remains impaired

by my mistakes, I fear.

Orphans often have regrets, the world upon their shoulder.

The weight increases day by day

while we continue growing older.

This humbled heart still pines for you

as it waits to feel the presence

of the patient love you had for me;

That love, now truly I know too.

I pray that God is just with you, for He has pardoned me.

I pray to hold you close again

in Heaven, for Eternity..

For Dad and Mom
Flagle Ernest 1917-1980
Dorothy Gwendolyn 1918-1979

Psalms 27:10 When thy mother and father forsake thee, the Lord will take you up.

Raising God's Kids

Now we know why it is so hard to raise kids.... Read on.

Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to his own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.

And the first thing he said was 'DON'T!'


'Don't what?' Adam replied.



'Don't eat the forbidden fruit.' God said.
'Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!

'No Way!'
'Yes way!'
'Do NOT eat the fruit!' said God.

'Why?'
'Because I am your Father and I said so,' God replied, wondering why he hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.

A few minutes later, God saw his children having an apple break and he was angry.
'Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?' God asked.

'Uh huh,' Adam replied.
'Then why did you?' said the Father.
'I don't know,' said Eve.
'She started it!' Adam said.
'Did not!'
'Did too!'
'DID NOT!'

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.
Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

Things to think about:

1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

Advice for the day:

Be nice to your kids.
They will choose your nursing home one day.

And finally:

IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:


'TAKE TWO ASPIRIN' AND 'KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN'!!!!!

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God Bless Our Veterans

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• In Honor of Our Veterans

In Memory of Cody Phelps

Watching the rider mount the steed
with a heart that held no fear
The King knew in the blink of an eye
the rider would join Him there

Waiting on the Staircase
for the rider to arrive
He had readied up the Mansion
where the rider would Abide.

Family, Friends, and Heroes
so many had Come before,
All gathered in expectation
as the rider neared The Door.

The Finish Line was clearly marked
for all of those Above.
The rider though, could see it not,
but he surely felt the Love.

No pain, nor fear of tragedy
were on the rider's mind.
God's arms opened and welcomed him;
the Rider had arrived on time.

The Rider blinked his eyes just once
then clearly he could See
the Glory of Heaven that awaits us all;
God's love for you and me.


For Cody's Family and friends
By Duliece Melton
November 1,2008

God's way?. . . NO way! ! !

Image by relandee via Flickr
Today's Christians: No Hope in God's Way

By Chuck Baldwin
July 9, 2008

I ask the indulgence of my non-churched readers, as this column is specifically designed to challenge the hearts and minds of professing believers.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah faced a generation that is very similar to the one we face today, I am afraid. Political and corporate leaders had given themselves over to corruption and duplicity. The fundamental underpinnings that founded and supported the nation were being dismantled. And the spiritual leaders seemed to be powerless to do anything about it.

Accordingly, Jehovah God told Jeremiah to give this message to the people of Israel:

"At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

"If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

"And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

"If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

"Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.

"And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart." (Jeremiah 18:7-12 KJV)

When these Hebrews said, "There is no hope," they were not saying, "It's all over. We are all doomed. It is helpless." No, they were not saying that at all. What they were saying was, "Doing it God's way offers no hope. We will do it our way. We will rely upon our own devices, wisdom, and strength. We can get ourselves out of this mess." That is the spirit these people possessed.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit that this is exactly the same spirit that many professing Christians display today.

Most everyone, including Christian people, realize that our country is in a mess. They readily agree that a divine healing is needed. They even use the great stories and examples of the Bible to teach our boys and girls how to obey and trust God. They extol the examples of Daniel, the three Hebrew children, Simon Peter and the Apostles, etc. They use these stories to illustrate the importance of putting obedience to God and God's principles above the machinations and demands of men.

When it comes to voting for and supporting candidates who have proven themselves to be unfaithful to the fundamental principles of liberty and good government, however, these same Christians suddenly become enamored with "the lesser of two evils," and pragmatism. Doing right gives way to being "practical," and standing for principle gives way to "not throwing my vote away."

Had Daniel been "practical," he would have stopped praying for a few weeks and stayed out of the lions' den. Had the three Hebrew children been "pragmatic," they would have given a symbolic bow to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. And I can just hear Christians living in the First Century talking about how they would vote for Nero over Caligula, as he would be "the lesser of two evils."

And from our own history, had America's Founding Fathers heeded the advice of the "experts" and pundits, they would never have signed the Declaration of Independence and fought a war for independence. Absolutely no one gave those brave patriots any chance--any chance--of victory.

Yet, both secular and sacred history are replete with the examples of brave men and women who were willing to defy the conventional wisdom and understanding of their times to stand boldly and courageously for the principles of truth and freedom. In fact, people who dared to defy the accepted wisdom of their age almost always accomplished the truly great exploits of history. Christians, among all people, should know this best.

How has it happened, then, that Christians cannot find the courage and resolve to support principle above political partisanship? How is it that we have come to embrace "the lesser of two evils" as a legitimate philosophy of voting? How is it that our spiritual leaders seem to be more concerned about being politically correct than they are about being Biblically correct?

I believe that God is waiting for His people in America to do what He told Jeremiah's generation to do: live and act according to His principles and trust Him with the result. Instead, many of us seem to be doing exactly what Jeremiah's generation did: we want to be pragmatic and wise in our own eyes and do it our way.

Think what God might do in our land today if every Christian, every God-fearing man and woman in America, would simply vote their principles every time they walked into a voting booth, even if the candidate had "no chance" of winning and whether he or she was told they would be "wasting" their vote or not. I wonder what God might do? (Besides, when we vote for evil, what exactly have we "won," even if they are victorious?)

I am reminded of one of my all-time favorite quotes spoken by John Quincy Adams. He said, "Duty is ours; results are God's."

When people--especially Christian people--start doing their duty and standing for truth and principle, whether it is considered politically incorrect, or unpopular, or "naïve," or anything else; then, and only then, will God give us the results that will bring healing and restoration of our land.

So, how many of us will determine to do our duty? Or, how many of us will say, "There is no hope in doing it God's way; I will rely upon men's devices and do it their way"? The way we answer that question will largely determine America's future--for good or for bad.

© 2008 Chuck Baldwin - All Rights Reserved

Chuck Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications Network called, "Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one hour long call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly articles on the internet http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and newspapers.

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