Donation Drive March to May
“Well done…”
Billy Graham went to be with the Lord Wednesday, February 21, 2018. Since then, he has been quoted a number of times commenting about his own passing from this life. He made the declaration in one of his crusade sermons many years ago:
“One of these days you’re going to hear that Billy Graham has died. Don’t you believe a word of it…I will be more alive at that time than I am right now… I will be with the Lord in my home in Heaven. I will have just simply changed addresses.”
I heard Dallas First Baptist Church pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, say of Billy Graham upon hearing of the evangelist’s death, “He is hearing the Lord say to him ‘Well done, good, faithful servant.'”
These quotes are reflective of absolute Bible truth. The very Word of God tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We are advised that every believer should want to hear his Lord say to him or her, “Well done, good, faithful servant…Enter into the glory of your new dwelling place.”
One day each of us will come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, if we have accepted His death, burial, and resurrection as the only way to redemption and to God the Father. Sadly, tragically, those who have rejected God’s salvation plan will come face to face with Him as judge of their unredeemed souls.
So only the saved of the ages can look forward to having the Lord Jesus say to them, “Well done…”.
Billy Graham, as Dr. Jeffress pointed out the other day, surely has now heard those wonderful words from the One whose Holy Name the evangelist spoke in hundreds of crusades across America and the world. His homecoming must continue to be glorious indeed.
As we think on Billy Graham’s departure for his new address in Heaven, it is apropos, I should think, to consider our own time of coming face to face with our Savior and Lord. What should we be doing to strive toward one day, perhaps soon, hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good, faithful, servant”?
Each of us who name the name of Christ must work in His great cause in the way He directs. That is, we must do our best to do His will in serving the purpose He has chosen for our time on earth. This service is individual, of course. But, it can also be done in a collective way.
And, this is the reason for this particular approach to our Rapture Ready donation drive for this quarter. This ministry–designed to lift the name of Jesus so that many will be drawn to Him, and to proclaim His soon return–provides a opportunity for all of us, together, to serve our lord in a powerful way. Those who contribute financially to our effort to alert many around the world to God’s salvation message and to the prophetic truth of Christ’s soon return are performing service that will one day bring forth the words we all want to hear from our Lord: “Well done, good, faithful servant!”
The challenges are great, and are growing more so while we move deeply into the very end of the age. Our financial needs have expanded with increased efforts to give the website a more powerful and effective outreach. As example, it was necessary to spend three months on updating the board. Since the software was old, it took endless hours for two design teams to update the software from version 4 to version 5. Todd says that if he had known it was going to be such a costly and time-consuming affair, he would have started over with a whole new website model.
As Dr. J Vernon McGee would say, I’m a back number, and understand none of the technological aspects with which Todd has to deal. However, I have listened to him as he has worked to make Rapture Ready everything the Lord wants it to be. He continues to work diligently. The effort and financial expense, likewise, continue to be considerable.
So, thanks for joining us in this most worthy endeavor while the coming of our Lord nears.
Time is short to work toward pleasing our Lord and Savior, who gave His all for us. What an experience it will be one day to–like no doubt Billy Graham has just done–look into Jesus’ loving, omniscient eyes and hear Him say, “Well done, good, faithful servant. Welcome into the magnificent abode of your eternal joy.”
As we get closer to the Tribulation hour, it is important for every Christian to have an end-time mindset. Prayer is essential at this crucial time. We appreciate those prayers more than we can express. If you truly believe the Rapture is drawing near, you should be more focused on endeavors that will contribute to the Kingdom of God.
Please consider becoming a monthly subscriber. This has been our best form of support. And, it is needed as never before.
An easy way to support RR is with an automatic monthly donation. The PayPal subscription service and allotments set up through a bank are convenient ways to send funds to the site. We hope you will sign up as soon as possible. You can find the link on the Donation page. Donations can also be sent to our PO Box at:
Rapture Ready
P.O. Box 969
Benton, AR 72018
As Billy Graham used to say: “May the lord Bless you real good!”
–Terry
The Coming Third Lebanon War
The nation of Israel has had two major wars with its northern neighbor Lebanon. In 1982 the first Lebanon war was launched to neutralize Palestine Liberation Organization forces. After PLO leader Yasser Arafat found himself surrounded on all sides, he graciously agreed to a ceasefire that had him and his forces retreating from Beirut to Tunisia.
The second Lebanon War occurred in 2006, and was the result of Israelis responding to shelling from Hezbollah forces. The Israel air force inflicted heavy damage on buildings in Lebanon’s capital. Due to unparalleled Iranian military support to Hezbollah before and during the war, some consider it the first round of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict.
It now appears that all along the Israeli-Lebanon border, round two is about to break out. That is what Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters last week. He had just returned from a bipartisan trip that included Democratic Sen. Chris Coons.
Graham said that Israeli officials made it clear to visiting lawmakers that the IDF will need to launch a military action in Southern Lebanon if Hezbollah continues work on a guided-rocket factory being built in the region – a factory that’s purportedly being funded by Iran, according to Bloomberg.
“They’ve told us in no uncertain terms that if this threat continues – they keep making rockets that can hit the airport and do a lot of damage to the state of Israel – they are going to have to go in,” Graham said.
The reason why Iran is directly funding the factory is a result of America’s lack of a strategy in dealing with Iranian influence in Lebanon and Syria. Because of the intense focus on destroying what is left of ISIS, US military commanders have ignored the growing threat from Iranian agents. In the Middle East, we are always a step behind in fighting the greater adversary.
Graham said that the top request from Israel, in a meeting with that country’s leaders, was “ammunition, ammunition, ammunition” and for future diplomatic support when Israel is forced to strike civilian areas where Hezbollah has heavily imbedded itself.
History shows that Israel will always respond to the need for self-preservation. Iran has repeatedly promised to destroy the Jewish state. The situation is so urgent that a partnership between former foes, Saudi Arabia and Israel, has been formed to push back against Iranian influence in the region, including the implicit threat of military violence.
There has been a typical response from the Lebanese government. Lebanon President Michel Aoun condemned the Israeli regime’s repeated violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, saying Beirut is prepared to counter any potential Israeli threat or violation.
“Lebanon is keen on maintaining stability and calm in South Lebanon, but it is also ready to defend itself shall Israel carry out an assault,” Aoun said in a meeting with UN Under-Secretary General Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
The number of missiles Hezbollah has amassed has nothing to do with basic defense. This terrorist group has an estimated rocket count of around 200,000 which is considerably more than most countries. Hezbollah is clearly planning for World War III.
The standoff between Israel and Hezbollah shows the staying hand of God. In any other setting, it would be inconceivable for a Muslim force to have so many missiles aimed at Israel and resist the urge to fire them at their foe. Hamas in Gaza only has access to the most crude projectiles and they have fired dozens of times in Israel’s direction. Hezbollah has missiles that can hit almost any city in Israel.
There is such a profound hatred of the Jewish race in the world today that any conflict involving Israel is bound to inflame this demonic rage. Bible prophecy seems to indicate that some event will act as a catalyst to turn all nations against Israel. I believe we are living in the only time that could produce such a universally evil mindset.
“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3: 1-2).
— Todd