Bridging The Gap

I Wrote This

Signs Of The Times....

Posted on August 11, 2007 at 5:49 PM

Praise the Lord, Online Friends!

Thank you for visiting my blog on our homepage.

The Lord gave me occasion to think of some things regarding the End Times in which we live, and perhaps some of you can gain a new perspective on some of these things by reading my thoughts as herein expressed. We see a lot of things going crazy in our world today. I received a bulletin from a friend on MySpace about how disgusting it is to see things like "Gay Pride Day" and see the government supporting them. The title of the bulletin was "Has God Flip-flopped on Sodomy?" I replied with words like these which I have now decided to add to my blogs on some (if not all) of our online profiles:

Dear Friend,

The increasing predominance of reprobate thinking in American government is necessary to bring about the fulfillment of God's prophetic Word concerning this generation. God is not ever going to be mocked. Think about this verse a bit:

Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

It is apparent in this verse that ALL of the people of Sodom (with only the exception of Lot and his immediate household) were given over to a reprobate way of thinking, completely carnal, and only driven by their lust. They had too much bread, their hands were idle, and all they wanted was sexual gratification, over and over again, and they had already all KNOWN each other, I believe we can safely assume; now these new guys had come to town, and ALL the people of Sodom were gathered to "break them in" to the local passtimes. America has not QUITE degenerated to that level, and if this nation is ever going to do so, the GOVERNMENT is going to have to become plentifully stocked, if not completely made up of, degenerate reprobate any-and-every-sexual people who are only driven by their own lusts. We're not QUITE there yet. Moving in that direction at an alarming rate, yes, but we're not quite there....

It has been said, and I agree to a certain extent, that the only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do NOTHING. BUT, evil is GOING to APPEAR to triumph from time to time, and it is IN THE WILL OF GOD. Listen to what Jesus said:

Luke 22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

And again, to Pilate:

John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

I believe that THIS statement marked the exact moment when Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world, for it was HE HIMSELF as God manifested in the flesh that had delivered HIMSELF to be crucified. No one TOOK His life, He laid it down for us, His friends. When He spoke these words, the translations of which we now read in our Bibles, when HE said "HATH the greater sin", he TOOK it by the speaking thereof, for anything that GOD speaks IS, just like in Genesis One when He said, "Light, BE". God Himself gave men the power to put Him on the cross. We should NEVER be so arrogant as to think we could have done it without His empowerment.

And don't forget what Jesus said to Peter when Peter was going to try to stand in the way of His dying on the cross:

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Who would doubt that for a moment it appeared evil had triumphed when Jesus hung lifeless upong the cross? But it was a NECESSARY thing! Peter wanted to stop it, but it HAD TO BE. People HAVE to fulfill the prophecies, like this one given by Paul:

2 Timothy 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

2Timothy 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

2Timothy 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

2Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

2Timothy 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

2Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God gives us free will to choose. Those who have been wrongly sexual can be made clean by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and MANY have been. No matter WHAT the sin was, of whatever type and description, and however abominable according to God's Word (which accurately states how God feels about homosexuality, fornication, adultery, bestiality, and any other self-inflicted sexual uncleanness), the shed blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from it, and HAS cleansed MANY; I speak from experience, being one who has been so cleansed. But MANY have chosen to cling to their sin rather than gain the cleansing therefrom. MANY more will continue to so choose, and the ultimate wages of SIN is DEATH. We can't pronounce death or judgment on them yet, however, for it is not yet TIME to judge....

Even God, it has been said and I believe it, does not presume to pronounce judgment on anyone before their last breath.

No, God has not flip-flopped, and there's a Judgment coming, and yes, homo/bi/trans/whatever/sexuality is odious to God, but THANK GOD it ain't over 'til it's over, because it's still our job to get out there and win some souls, and we can't do it unless we love people and hate sin. A preacher soft on sin is worse than a doctor with a love for cancer, but a preacher who does not love is also worse than a doctor who is just doing his job and doesn't really care whether his patients live or die.

I am convinced that you care, so please don't take this the wrong way, it's just that the things we see happening, howsoever disgusting, are still reasons to rejoice, for it's time to look up, and reasons to redeem the time, because we're running out!

God bless you.

Bro. Joseph Bridges, recovered sinner

Bridging The Gap Gospel Band

Texarkana USA

My Recent Visit To Missouri

Posted on May 4, 2007 at 8:14 PM

A great big Bridging The Gap thank you goes out this month to the men and women of Local 562 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industries of the United States and Canada for their exemplary welcome and treatment of Bro. Bridges during his employment at Callaway Nuclear Plant. For those of you who don't know, Bro. Bridges is a 28 year member of the United Association in good standing with his home Local Union 100 of Dallas, Texas. The following are some comments by Bro. Bridges regarding Local Union 562 of St. Louis, Missouri:

First off, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome I received from the membership of Local 562 and also from representatives of Atlantic Union Resources, the company for whom I am currently working. Next, I was amazed at the state of the art equipment and the facility to which I was sent for the purpose of sharpening my welding skills before even visiting the nuclear site for testing and orientation. I have been far and wide as a pipe welder in the past 28 years, so I feel qualified to say: Local Union 562 is a top shelf local. Their training facilities are second to none I've seen. The efficiency and organization with which the manpower is being handled at the nuclear plant are the best I've ever seen in any local union ANYWHERE. There is a feeling of family, yet without sacrificing the complete and utmost attention to the businesslike handling of all matters related to the work at hand.

Kudos to St. Louis, Local 562!

Ah, and for any of you young men and ladies out there considering a career in construction, let me say this: United Association training IS higher education, and it leads into a skilled profession that you just might find, as I have, very rewarding, both financially and in terms of personal enjoyment. I often say, and not completely in jest, that what we do is like playing with Tinkertoys and getting paid a lot of money for it. The thing is, we are building the future with all these state of the art toys. Consider that one of the processes in which I am skilled is a computerized welding process known as orbital welding, by which tubing and pipe of many alloys can be welded. This is something you can easily learn to do, if you have an aptitude for such things. Not only that, but also, United Association instructors teach apprentices the "why" behind the way things work, and the HISTORY of how our present piping technologies have come to be.

America truly does work best when we say "Union, YES." Why? Because our Union training programs are the best there is. The Union is not just a bunch of people who get together and say "We're not going to do the work unless you pay us more money." The Union is a way of life; we peer check each others' work and give recognition for work that meets, and often exceeds, the quality and quantity standards employers need. Unions not only benefit workers, they help the economy, and produce a better quality of work. That, I believe the statistics prove, is why so many employers with critical needs, such as those present at nuclear facilities and computer chip plants, so often hire union workers.

I have NEVER been ashamed of being a Union man.

God bless y'all!

New Books!

Posted on February 16, 2007 at 11:37 PM

Sister Bridges' Uncle Jim Wynn, retired 87 year old Southern Baptist minister, has written some wonderful books and poems, which he is interested in offering for sale. If anyone is interested in knowing more, please message us!

God bless!

Well Glory to God!

Posted on January 1, 2007 at 2:06 PM

Greetings, Everyone!

It's 2007. That's 21 years after 1988. Does anyone out there remember the book entitled "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988"?

Honestly, I am expecting the Lord to come just anytime, but is not advisable to stake anything of any great value on your understanding of Bible prophecy when it comes to personal preparedness for the coming of the Lord. It is also not advisable to try to scare people into repentance by making unfounded claims regarding knowledge of the date of Christ's return or other upcoming significant events in prophecy. It is even less advisable to seek to make a name for one's self by making tabloid predictions, claiming as one's source the Holy Ghost and Bible scripture, yet that is exactly one of the practices that has been part of the foundation of some of our era's most financially successful and most respected ministries.

Any man or woman of God can succumb to the temptation to speak things that sound great in the name of the Lord. A few years ago, a dear friend of ours preached a message about 1999 being 6661 upside down, and claimed that 1999 was the first year of the antichrist. Well, he could still be right, I suppose, if the man who will become known as the antichrist happened to be born in 1999. But it's been almost eight years since then, so if he was saying that 1999 was the first year of the dominion of the antichrist as a one world ruler, he definitely missed. But it sounded so good (at least to most of the people in attendance, and drew a lot of enthusiastic support from the pews. I often wonder why some saints get so excited when the minister gets on thin ice scripturally.... To me, it seems that there are enough well-founded themes that have never been adequately expounded.

Well, it's 2007. Happy New Year, everyone; we're seven years past Y2K. Seven years ago, I stood in the pulpit, preaching at a dear friend Pastor's Church in the Dallas area. I was just as worried then about moving into the second millenium since the birth of Christ as I am now: not worried whatsoever. It is not the number of the date on the calendar that should concern us so much as the number of SOULS that are still without a SAVIOR in their daily life. Are you living a life that gives Him glory, to the end that the unsaved might find Him through YOU, or are you keeping your own agenda, doing what YOU want to do, building your own little kingdom in the name of Jesus Christ, and practicing a buddy-buddy-pat-on-the-back Christianity for profit and prestige? Are you getting on people's nerves with your witness while at the same time being careful not to let your faith interfere with your duties as a workman? Are the demon-possessed being drawn your way for the relief they need, relief that was once freely given YOU, or are you in a maintenance mode only holding pattern, slowly degenerating into a state of hoping that you're just barely going to make it?

In case you can't tell by now, these songs we sing are not just something that we put together to try to make people accept that we are Christians, or something we recorded so that we could have a means of generating more revenue by selling CDs when we go out to minister, but rather they reflect the very heartbeat of a group of people who are trying to take as many others to heaven with us as possible. We have our ups and our downs, and we are not always on top of the mountain; in fact, we are hardly ever all up at the same time, for we are PEOPLE; but as the head of this family, I can state confidently that we know Who is in charge, and we have a good general idea of what He wants to do. Waiting on one's ministry can be the most difficult thing you will ever do in your walk with God, but just remember, the ministers who try to get famous are the ones who most consistently make a big thud when they hit the ground. Not too many people will extol your name for all of the wonderful things you did BEFORE you fell. What's the first thing you think of when I say Jim Baker? Or Jimmy Swaggart? How about Oral Roberts even? Remember that first million dollars that "God told him" he'd die without? I don't think I really WANT to be famous.

A few years back (Father's Day, 1999, to be exact), I ran into a man with lots of gold on his fingers who prophesied that I was going to minister to a very rich man who was going to give me a million dollars. He said I was going to receive two houses, a Mercedes, and six thousand dollars a month as a starting salary to preach on nationwide television and radio. He had the resources to make it happen. So why am I still out on the road working for a living, suffering under a mountain of debt that has vastly grown since that day, and preaching primarily for Churches that can't make me wealthy when I could be speaking in front of all that high-end television equipment, within just a few miles of my home? He and a woman who was not his wife were living in the Church building where I would have been preaching. That was reason enough.

So, when you hear that Bro. Bridges is kind of a hard cookie, or if you hear someone say this or that about the Bridges family, consider the source, and ask yourself if you think THEY would have made a similar choice, if the opportunity had come THEIR way.

God bless you all, and Happy New Year!

PRAISE THE LORD EVERYONE!

Posted on October 15, 2006 at 2:11 AM

Recently we were blessed to be in service with Bro & Sister Hardin in Garland Texas. We were running late and decided to slide in quietly and visit Cornerstone Apostolic Family Church located at Saturn & Northwest Highway in Garland Texas. Pastor Hardin is the Texas District Superintendent of the ACJC organization.

Bro. & Sister Hardin treated us like royalty. From taking us out to eat for lunch at Babe's, to inviting us to minister for them that evening. The Holy Ghost saturated the morning and evening services. Bro. Hardin is mightily anointed of the Lord to preach this precious truth. Cornerstone truly loves and worships the Lord Jesus Christ with all thier hearts.

After the evening service, ladies of the church had prepared a meal fit for a king in the fellowship hall. They made us to feel like family and we give God all of the glory. We thank God for brother's & sister's of precious like faith. Please visit them, if you are in the area, you will truly be blessed.

We were invited back to Cornerstone Apostolic Family Church to attend their Minister's conference a couple of weeks later in which Bro. Hardin asked us to minister in music. What a time in the Holy Ghost was had by all!

Bro. Cooper from Mississippi ministered the Friday evening service, after a power packed worship service. Bro. Cooper preached, "Do Not Give Up Your Birthright". What a powerful message for the church today. We cannot afford to backslide on our convicitons, standards of holiness & modesty, nor can we get lulled away from our prayer and fasting.

Pastor White, who is the Asst. Texas District Superintendent of the ACJC organization, invited us to come minister in music, for his home church in Killeen Texas the following Sunday morning. We were honored and accepted such a gracious invitation. The power of God rested mightily upon the service as the praise team begin to lead us in worship. God moved and blessed throughout the music and preaching of the word. Bro. White did an excellent job of ministering the word.

Bro. & Sister White pastor at the New Life Apostolic Church located at 702 North 8th Street, Killeen, Texas. They were kind enough to bless us with an exquisite room at Comfort Suites, and treated us to lunch at Jason's Deli. They also presented us with a lovely fruit basket as well. These precious folks truly love the Lord. We are eternally grateful for the blessings of the Lord.

Pastor White married two members of his congregation that Sunday evening. The enemy had split up their marriage, years earlier but the Lord had other plans. He brought both of them into the church, one at a time, called them to repentance, filled them with the Holy Ghost after being baptized in Jesus name, then allowed them to fall in love again and get married in the church. They now have God right in the middle of their family & marriage. God is still blessing marriages, putting families back together and answering prayers!

We honor these Pastors, & thank them for inviting us into their churches and allowing us to minister for the Lord. We had a wonderful time and will be returning to minister again at Cornerstone Apostolic for the Christmas Banquet in December.

Blessings to you all in the lovely name of Jesus Christ!

Sister Rhonda Bridges

Hungry for more!

Posted on August 19, 2006 at 2:15 AM

We were blessed to be in service with Bro. and Sister Colwick in Denton Texas 2 weekends in a row. They have a new storefront church there on Fort Worth Drive. They have poured their blood, sweat and tears into beautifying the house of God. The church looked great!

What a time in the Lord we had. They have several new converts that are hungry for the Lord and worship and pray with all their hearts. Each service began at 10:30 a.m. and the first lasted until 4:30 p.m and the second until 3:30 p.m. One brother went home and brought his wife back and she received a healing touch from the Lord.

The Holy Ghost moved in a powerful way both services one Sister was baptized in Jesus name. Two teenage sisters came up for prayer, both received blessing from the Lord. The Lord slain two of the ladies in the power of the Holy Ghost and one of the brother's received much joy. Many were weeping and praying at the alter and seeking the Lord.

God is still on the throne and pouring our his blessings! We were honored and privileged that Bro. Colwick invited us to be in service with him and we look forward to another visit!

Until he returns

Sis Bridges

Wonderful Sunday!

Posted on August 7, 2006 at 4:41 AM

We had a marvellous time in the Lord today with the Apostolic Jesus Name Church of Denton, Texas, and were blessed by the preaching and music ministry of visiting Pastor Mark Boudreaux and his congregation from a neighboring Church. More cooperative services between these two congregations are planned. Bridging The Gap was privileged to participate in the worship music during various parts of the service, and the Lord added his stamp of approval with a wonderful moving of the Spirit and a great time of blessing near the end of the meeting.

Elisabeth received the baptism of the Holy Ghost at the ALJC youth Camp

Posted on July 1, 2006 at 1:31 AM

We were so blessed to attend this year at the Texas District Youth Camp in New Summerfeild Texas.

Bro. Jardnicek ministered all week long and did an outstanding job. Bro. Jardnicek is a very anointed young man with a burden for the youth.

Bro. David Chapman (Texas District Youth President) and his precious wife Sister Becky Chapman did an excellent job along with Bro. Jason Hood getting all the preparations made for an anointed youth camp! It definitely was a team effort and was an outstanding camp this year. Our hats are off to all that helped and participated! The Lord will truly bless you for your efforts and sacrifice.

At the last count, I believe 17 young people received the baptism of the Holy Ghost for the very first time. Our daughter Elisabeth who is 9 received the Holy Ghost for the very first time. Several others received a renewing in the Holy Ghost. Our two sons received a tremendous blessing as the Holy Ghost took over the service Friday night as the youth prayed and worshiped the King of Kings!

I have to add that there was a great sacrifice and love offering given by the Texas District Youth to keep the Camp open. $750.00 was needed at a moments notice for a new permit that had recently been put in effect.The Texas Youth gave an offering that totaled over $1100.00....

What a giving heart they have...to further the kingdom of God. God truly loves a cheerful giver and he poured out his annointing and power upon each service.

To God be all the glory!!!!

Holy Ghost proud,