May 2, 2016

nmThe Bathroom Debate Is Just Plain Stupid

We’ve clearly hit rock bottom in the culture war when we are down to debating which bathroom people should be allowed to use. Everything has been running smoothly for hundreds of years, and now—all of a sudden, we have a group of people declaring they are not happy using the bathroom that matches their birth gender.

There are some very rare medical conditions where a person has traits of both sexes, but it doesn’t normally result in a person being in a limbo state. The vast majority of cases where people are classified as transgender is because the person rejects the gender with which they were naturally born.

The good people of North Carolina were only using common sense logic when they passed a law that required transgender people to use restrooms in public buildings and schools—that match the sex on their birth certificates. I would be abhorred to have my mother or sister confronted by some middle-aged man who thinks he can use the ladies room because he is dressed up in drag.

The lack of concern for the rights of women and children shows the demonic madness behind this agenda. There are far too many deviant men in this world who will pretend to be transgender as a means of gaining access to the people they seek to exploit.

The liberal media has applied the threat of boycott to get North Carolina to repeal its new law. When Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert to show his protest, I could only think that this was some type of joke.

Springsteen sees himself as standing with “freedom fighters” in his opposition to this measure. “Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry, which is happening as I write—is one of them,” he wrote. “It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backward instead of forward.”

If Springsteen had made this declaration a decade ago, he would have had to cancel all his concert dates in the remaining 49 states. His family would probably have placed him under the care of a psychiatrist. For Springsteen to be cheered as a hero, just shows how far and fast we’ve fallen in this nation.

I’m glad that the American Family Association is calling for a boycott of Target after the retail giant announced, “We welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”

The AFA claims to have over 900,000 people who have pledged to avoid shopping at Target. If enough Christians join in the boycott, we might be able to give these liberals a taste of their own medicine.

A news outlet recently argued that conservative politicians and activists are without justification for their “prejudice and bigotry” because the Bible makes no mention of transgender people. While there is no direct mention of the word “transgender” in the Good Book, the Old Testament clearly takes a strong line on cross-dressing in Deuteronomy 22:5.

“A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so an abomination to the Lord your God.”

There is nothing normal about the label “transgender.” A high rate of mental disorders among these people have been well-documented for fifty years. More than half have active suicidal thoughts and 45 percent have a major depressive episode.

Caitlyn Jenner has been portrayed as this wonderful example of a man who discovered he’s really a woman and now he’s found fulfillment by making the switch. The only transformation that has taken place is his name. Even if Jenner were to have a surgical female organ created biologically and genetically—he would still be a male. If Jenner’s body was discovered a thousand years from now, and a DNA test was run; he would be labeled as a male.

A key problem with liberalism is that it is only satisfied if it is pushing some new degenerate immoral boundary. Once conservatives and Christians give in to the transgender lobby, liberals will probably be singing the praises of beastiality. Bruce Springsteen will be cancelling shows in states that refuse to allow people to marry their dogs.

I constantly get emails from people who use math formulas to figure out when Jesus is coming back for His Church. The restriction on knowing the exact date (Matthew 25:13) should be the first reason why these types of speculation are unproductive. The understanding that wickedness would continue to get worse as we approach the Tribulation is all the warning we really need. Since the world is about maxed out in evil deeds, the Rapture must be very near.

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

–Todd


nmControl Means Everything

Road rage has always been something that has confounded me. My first exposure to the phenomenon came in a humorous fashion. It was presented on The Wonderful World of Disney in animation. One of Mickey Mouse’s close pals–the floppy-eared, buck-toothed Goofy–was the featured character.

The narrator talked about the Goofy character, while the human-like canine went about preparing for work one morning. The narrator told the viewer that this was the gentlest of creatures–a person who wouldn’t harm a fly. Goofy was polite to his wife and children; he peacefully read his newspaper at the breakfast table while sipping his coffee at a leisurely pace.

Goofy got up from the table, wiped his mug with a napkin, folded the newspaper, and put it beneath his arm. He grasped his briefcase, put his fedora on his head, kissed Mrs. Goofy goodbye, hugged the little Goofies, and opened the door to his garage.

All the while the narrator was telling the viewer just how soft-hearted and, indeed, how wonderful a husband, father, and citizen was our about-to-be work-commuter. Mr. Goofy opened the driver-side door to his sedan, sat in the seat–all the while a tranquil, most pleasant half-smile on his mug.

Then it happened! The moment he grasped the steering wheel, a profound transformation took place. His mug contorted into a vicious, snarling countenance. His smile became a fang-bearing scowl of evil. His eyes widened and became red with bulging blood-veins popping to the surface, his black eyes shifting angrily while drool seeped from the sides of the jowls and he snorted flames and smoke from his big snout.

Goofy became the supreme picture of rage. The narrator described the transformation and gave the viewer the complete account of Goofy the maniac’s trip into the city of his workplace.

Soon after that program aired, I became a regular driver, having reached the age of getting a driver’s license. However, I can’t recall at the time having experienced road rage myself, or even having seen it take place in the real world. But, the creators of that Disney program obviously had experienced the phenomenon.

A little later in life I certainly witnessed the fact that road rage exists. The phenomenon seems to be less and less a phenomenon–rather, has turned into a “new normal” for driver comportment.

The latest incident we might recall is when a former NFL football player was shot to death while he and a female passenger were on a city street. The former player apparently bumped a car in front of him for blocking him from proceeding. He then steered the car around the car he had bumped.

The driver of the car that was bumped sped after the offending vehicle. When he caught up with the former player’s car, the offended driver fired several shots into the other car, resulting in the former player being fatally wounded.

Such reports are not at all uncommon today. It’s as if the human mind has lost all control of reasoning ability while behind the wheel. I believe the phenomenon–now the new normal–might be part of the apostle Paul’s perilous times of 2 Timothy chapter 3. There seems little doubt that today men (and women) drivers are increasingly “fierce” and “incontinent,” as the KJV puts it. That people are without ability to govern their tempers is a bottom-line characterization of the human condition that could legitimately be concluded. Angers flare out of control over the slightest perceived personal disrespect. Too often, such incidents end with bloodshed.

All of the above is but representation in microcosm of the larger manifestation of the ferocity and incontinence (lack of control) that is raging across the world at present.

On a much more profound scale of uncontrolled fury, a corpulent little tyrant In North Korea starves his people, while pouring money into military and nuclear technology with which to threaten the world. The mullahs of Islam incite hatred, encouraging all-out jihad against Israel and all who won’t bow the knee to Allah. In American inner cities, organizations devoted to anarchy and mayhem for the sake of acquiring and/or maintaining power over their ethnic masses go about tearing down the societal fiber of America’s culture. Total chaos appears to be but a major crisis away–perhaps in the very near future. Deteriorating economic conditions on a national and global scale could well be the catalyst for producing such crisis, many experts warn.

Everything looks to be out of control, while those elitists who want to bring all peoples back to Babel and a one-world order of absolute rule search for avenues to reach their utopian goals.

Uncertainty is the disorder of the day, however, no matter how far reaching are the programs and manipulations of the would-be globalist masters. This world, with its myriad building troubles, should have by now imploded from untenable, economic pressures or else exploded in nuclear fire because of road rage-like insanity in planetary conflict.

But, planet earth wags on. The uncontrollable is for some reason still under control.

God raises up kings and nations, and He brings them down. Nothing within all of creation is ever beyond His controlling hand.

Whether considering worries about the upcoming presidential election, fear of North Korea and its nukes, ISIS and its barbarous terrorism, or the fearful diagnosis of a devastating illness or loss of those we love on a personal basis, all is under control at all times. There is no situation, no matter how profound or how personal, that the Lord of Heaven doesn’t control.

The key to being at peace within the safety and assurance of God’s control of all circumstance is to be within the heavenly Father’s family. This relationship is achieved, of course, only through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior (Romans 10: 9-10). The Lord appeals to all of mankind to consider the matter of His absolute control and authority over all that exists.

“Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” (Isaiah 40:21-26)

–Terry

April 25, 2016

nmThose Frustrating Jews in Israel

It seems fitting that the worst president in American history would be matched up with an equally incompetent vice president. Joe Biden has a habit of making embarrassing marks at the most inappropriate times. His latest gaffe involved the nation of Israel.

While giving a speech to J Street , a group of self-hating Jews (a favorite of the Obama Administration), Biden expressed “overwhelming frustrations” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies.

Several hours earlier in Jerusalem, a bombing of a bus injured 21 passengers. By the time Biden spoke, the Israeli police had already determined it was once-again—Palestinian terrorism.

I can only wonder if the source of Biden’s frustration was that no Israelis were killed in the attack. When it comes to diplomatic etiquette, it is standard practice to open with, “I strongly condemn…” when addressing a group that has just suffered an act of unprovoked violence.

A series of knife-wielding attacks against Jews—by Palestinians, has plagued Israel for many months. The State Department has stated there is absolutely no justification for terrorism. Secretary John Kirby said, “We continue to encourage all parties to take affirmative steps to reduce tensions and restore calm.”

The State Department’s moral equivalence here is appalling. We are not dealing with two equal parties in this situation to “reduce tensions” and “restore calm.” Palestinian terrorists have been brutally stabbing and killing Israelis. Last month, an American was one of their victims.

President Obama and other Democrats will often say, “Israel has a right to defend itself.” This remark is made whenever Israelis respond to Arab terrorism. There is nothing magnanimous about that statement because it’s like saying, a woman being raped has a right to ward off her attacker. By stating the obvious truth, the Obama Administration shows its natural bias toward the Arab aggressors.

The movement to Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) Israeli products is a pure exercise in futility and frustration. Trade with Israel is growing. Israel and China have just agreed to a multi-billion free trade deal that could double bilateral trade between the two nations. The limitation on agricultural products from a few selected areas of the “occupied territories” is not going to matter to a nation with a $300 billion GDP.

The world seems to be almost incapable of showing frustration toward the Palestinians. The citizens of Gaza have an incredible fixation with digging tunnels into Israel. The U.S. has given the Palestinians billion of dollars in aid. Much of this U.S. tax-payer money is spent on supplies and manpower to build more tunnels to infiltrate Israel.

The recent discovery of a major tunnel using new Israeli technological may mark the end of Gaza’s weapon of choice. I couldn’t find any reports in the media mentioning how Israel is clever in combating the tunnel menace. The silence can only be the result of disappointment.

There is no logical reason for Biden to harbor frustration toward Israel. In his speech, he talked about the long term goal of having a two-state solution. Biden warned that Israel needs to come up with a comprise—before the Arabs in Israel outnumber the Jews.

How you can you make peace with people who have shown no motivation to hold to any agreement? Netanyahu knows that the status quo is fine for Israel. The Palestinians need the Jewish state for jobs. The more they get walled-off for participating in terrorist acts, the deeper they slide into poverty.

It should be obvious to everyone that Israel has done nothing wrong. Yet she is increasingly seen as the villain. Last week, Mehmet Kaplan, Sweden’s housing minister was forced to resign after it was reported that he said, “Israelis treat Palestinians in a way that is very like that in which Jews were treated during Germany in the 1930s.”

Biden’s diminishing patience with Israel may be driven by the fact that Barack Obama’s term is nearing an end. In the coming months, we may see the White House openly declare Israel to be an enemy of America. Since God has already promised that those who stand against Israel will fail, I am confident that our lawless president will be met with frustration.

“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:3).

–Todd


nmOn Being Rapture Ready Part II

Note: This April 22 was the fifth-year anniversary of the Good Friday trip I was given to somewhere on the perimeter of Heaven. It remains as vivid in my every waking moment today as right after it happened. I wanted to again present the articles I wrote at the end of that year–2011–because I believe we are so very near the time of Christ’s Call to us–“Come up hither!” (Revelation 4:1).

Also, I wish to announce my just completed book which is now being prepared for publication at New Leaf Publishing Group. Rapture Ready…Or Not:15 Reasons This Is the Generation That Will Be Left Behind is scheduled for release July 1, 2016. I’m certain in the deepest regions of my spirit that this book is a major reason for the round trip to that other dimension on that Good Friday five years ago.

I’m having considerable trouble exercising patience as this book approaches its release. I just can’t wait to share it with you. Without intending to attract unto myself any aggrandizement–for the Lord of Heaven is the only pPerson deserving such–I believe I was commissioned to deliver this message. Rapture Ready…Or Not, this generation is on the brink of God’s most profound intervention into human history since the day the Great Flood of Noah’s day burst upon the world.

Here is Part II of that December 2011 Nearing Midnight article. There is no specific signal that presages the Rapture of believers in the Scriptures. That calling by Christ to those who know Him as Savior will be unannounced and instantaneous. Paul the apostle’s words inform us of that stunning event: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Paul says further: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The website Todd Strandberg began in 1987, before the internet was making an impact to any extent on life in America and throughout the world, encompasses what Christ expects every born-again believer to become. Todd gave it the name raptureready.com, a nomenclature defining a spiritual condition eternally crucial to each and every living individual.

All who have died during this Church Age (Age of Grace) are now beyond getting “Rapture ready.” They are either “Rapture ready” or not. People alive at the present time, if they don’t know Christ as Savior, still have opportunity to get Rapture ready. All who are saved (know Jesus as their Savior) are Rapture ready in one sense, but might not be Rapture ready in another. We will try to clarify these matters. It is most important that we do so.

I testified in my commentary last week of instantaneously standing before a throng of heavenly witnesses (Hebrews 12:1-3) the moment my heart stopped beating. This happened three separate times. Each time my heart ceased to beat, I was somewhere in eternity. God the Holy Spirit’s assurance of where I was and who the beautiful, cheering young people were becomes more strongly burned into my own spirit by the day.

The only action I have taken in my life to warrant being instantly transported to that heavenly realm was to accept Christ as my Savior. There is no other action I could take while in this physical life to assure my instant transport into those stunning surroundings. While my near-death experience wasn’t the Rapture, of course, I believe with all that is within my spiritual understanding that it was a type of what awaits the generation of Christians alive at the time of that great event, as described by the apostle Paul’s prophetic words as given above. At that future moment of Rapture, all who have died during the Church Age, or who are living at the time, will stand not before a throng of witnesses as I did, but before the Lord Jesus, Himself! “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

All who are living today who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior stand in mortal danger. When their hearts beat the final time, they will find themselves in the same, unimaginably horrid place as the rich man described by Jesus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (read Luke 16:19-31). Likewise, the moment Christ says at the Rapture: “Come up hither” (Revelation 4:1), the person who hasn’t accepted Christ will be left behind on earth to face a time in human history of which the Lord Jesus Himself said: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matthew 24:21-22a).

Being Rapture Ready

So, it is imperative to make clear what it means to be Rapture ready. Our eternal souls hang in the balance of God’s impending judgment. The Lord of Heaven must judge sin, because He cannot abide sin in His holy presence. No sin can enter the gates of Heaven. And this is where God’s magnificent love comes to the forefront of His dealing with each of us who are sinners.

He loves you and me so much that He sent His Son–God in the flesh, Jesus Christ—to come to earth to be the perfect sin-sacrifice, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, whose blood takes away the sin of the world. To be Rapture ready, you and I must be “saved” from our sins and made pure in the righteousness found only in Christ. When we believe God and accept Christ as Savior, we become Rapture ready in the eternal sense. We will go to Heaven upon our death, or will be raptured when Jesus steps out on the clouds of glory and shouts: “Come up hither!”

But, there is another meaning of being Rapture ready. Each Christian is responsible for being Rapture ready in this sense. To be Rapture ready as a child of God means we are to be living our lives in a way pleasing to God. We are to lift the name of Jesus so that men, women, and children will be drawn to Him for salvation. We are to be watching for His any-moment return in the Rapture.

Let me make it clear. I believe the Word of God tells us that every person who is saved through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ will go to be with Him at the moment of Rapture, no matter the state of his or her fellowship with the Lord. We will ALL stand before Him, Paul tells us.

However, to be truly Rapture ready as a Christian means that we are living life in such a biblically prescribed way that when Jesus calls us we will not be ashamed to look Him in His omniscient eyes. We should desire above all else to hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23b).

End- times world conditions today are unmistakable. That face-to-face meeting could take place at any moment!

–Terry