Volume 11 Issue 1 - January 1996

New Year 1945
Composed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at a Gestapo prison camp

"And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder were tempted, were slain with the sword. they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy. (Hebrews 11:36-38)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer composed this poem shortly before his martyrdom in a Gestapo prison camp towards the end of World War 2. He was one in recent history for whom the world was not worthy and one of the few Christian ministers who had the courage to resist, confront, and oppose the onslaught of Hitler's reign of terror in Nazi Germany. I am struck by his resolve to submit to the Lord's will despite his fear and uncertainty. This poem makes clear his heart is established and his faith energized to keep on believing, loving, and trusting his Lord in the midst of darkness, uncertainty, and torment. Though most of us will not face such a fiery trial as brother Bonhoeffer, his example of surrender to the Lord's will for the New Year can certainly be emulated. Happy New Year brethren!

With every power for good to stay and guide me, comforted and inspired beyond all fear, I'll live these days with you in thought beside me, and pass with you, into the coming year.

The old year still torments our hearts, unhastening; the long days our sorrows endure. Father, grant to the soul thou hast been chastening that thou hast promised the healing and the cure

Should it be ours to drain the cup of grieving even to the dregs of pain, at Thy command we will not falter, thankfully receiving all that is given by Thy loving hand.

But, should it be Thy will once more to release us to life's enjoyment and it's good sunshine, that we've learned from sorrow shall increase us and all our life be dedicate as Thine.

Today, let candles shed their radiant greeting; Lo, on our darkness are they not Thy light. leading us haply to our longed-for meeting? Thou canst illume e'en darkest night.

When now silence deepens for our harkening grant we may hear Thy children's voices raise from all the unseen world around us darkening their universal paean, in Thy praise.

While all the powers of God aid and attend us, boldly we'll face the future, be it what may. At even, and at morn, God will befriend us, and oh, most surely on each New Year's day

Corrie Ten Boom, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is another twentieth century hero of the faith. This is a godly woman who endured unspeakable horrors in a Nazi concentration camp for simply trying to rescue precious Jewish lives from ethnic extermination. The Lord, in His Sovereignty, released her from cruel bondage while choosing to bring Dietrich home to his eternal reward. I believe Miss Ten Boom is uniquely qualified to adequately sum up the sentiment of Dietrich's inspired poem. After her miraculous release from the clutches of Nazi tyranny, she proclaimed this message far and wide, "No pit is so deep, that He is not deeper still." Praise His Holy Name!

A JOHN THE BAPTIST LETTER

"For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." (Mark 6. 18)

The following is a communication I sent to Vice President Gore to confront his defense of openly endorsing the "Gay Agenda". The Lord is stirring up my spirit to challenge our civil leaders to rethink, recant, and repent of the foolish, humanistic, politically correct, and abominable policies that has brought the displeasure of heaven upon our heads. It is vitally important for the Church to once again be the prophetic witness that holds civil government accountable to God's standards as they relate to God's will for civil government. If our ministry was not marked by this Administration, I'm sure this letter will settle that issue once and for all.

Honorable Vice President,

I am deeply saddened and disturbed over this Administration's blatant ignorance of, or complete disregard for, God's civil and moral Laws. Your rejection of the righteous rules of Heaven by which men are to govern themselves in relationship to God and one another. I stand appalled, by the incessant pursuit of political correctness by which this Administration continues to craft moral wrongs into civil rights, leading us to determine something is straight when God Almighty has already eternally decreed it to be crooked. I'm referring, of course, to this Administration's endorsement, support, and promotion of the hideous act of child-killing and the perverse "deathstyle" of homosexuality.

Can you name for me, Vice President, one nation or empire who killed their own children and allowed homosexuality to run rampant and then thrive as a people? The Bible is clear and history confirms that these two sins unchecked and unchallenged decimate a culture. This truth is indisputable and yet, this Administration continues to blindly chant the mantra of political correctness, while our nation spirals down the primrose path of moral anarchy, violence, and perverse barbarism. Can you not see the correlation between the government sponsored and societal's acceptance of these two abominations and the evil bitter fruit we are now experiencing as a people?

You may say, "Mr. Thomas, we have more important problems that we face as a people. Why, there is Bosnia, the battle over the budget, welfare reform and so on. We are not concerned about the moral issues of the day, for our problems are economic in nature rather than moral. " Though, I believe there are many difficult problems that we face as a people, but without question, the most critical, deals with the fact that God is a Holy God and we, as a people, have defied His authority, trashed His Laws, and scorned His benevolent hand. As a result, the Lord God who used to be our friend and prospered us beyond any other nation is swiftly becoming our worse enemy. The writing is on the wall, while we revel in our rebellion against heaven our nation is slowly dying of moral sickness. We are like a physically powerful athlete that is dying of an incurable disease. I, for one, cannot in good conscience stand by and praise the "Emperor's new clothes" and keep the status quo knowing the shame, disgrace, and dishonor that awaits this nation if we continue to boast in our transgressions.

The point is, the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, alone has the authority to make Law, define good and evil, and save the souls of men who believe in the sublime truth of the Holy Scriptures. He also has the power to raise up kingdoms and knock them down. The bottom line is this, God has more disaster awaiting this spoiled, self-centered, and whorish nation, than the federal government has relief. Unlike, the current Administration, our Founding Fathers believed this. Thomas Jefferson once stated, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever." George Washington decreed, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

I can quote all day long Biblical and historical precedent to reveal the fact that you have aligned yourselves in a precarious position by tolerating and allowing to proliferate that which God has deemed intolerable. Thereby, either directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, deluding yourselves into believing that you are more righteous than God, holier than God, more merciful than God, and smarter than God. I cannot emphasis enough how dangerous that is to you personally and to our nation as a whole. I thereby, call this Administration to repent of trying to make straight what God has called crooked, for making civil rights out of moral wrongs, for breaking God's commandments, "Thou shalt not kill" and "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination: ", for tolerating what God deems intolerable, and for choosing political correctness which places you in the precarious position of deeming yourselves smarter than God.

I leave you with a quote from Psalms chapter 2 which warns civil leaders to properly relate to God's supreme authority and to respond correctly to God's dealings as He rules and reigns in the affairs of men and of nations, "Be ye wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are they that put their trust in him. " Truly, that is the main reason for this stern warning, if our nation is to survive as a world power and not be reduced to a third world status, we must put our trust back in God instead of the political philosophies that is undermining and destroying the foundations on which we stand.

Vice President Gore, we cannot continue to kill our babies and promote sexual immorality with impunity. There are severe consequences that we are certainly reaping as a result of our folly. Though, I realize, you probably will not read this letter, I still am compelled out of my love for God, my duty to our nation as a minister of the Gospel, and for the sake of posterity to at least try to persuade this Administration to humble itself before God, to change its heart, and thereby, perhaps, give God a reason to show mercy at a time that our policies and actions are begging for His judgments. Terrorism, floods, droughts, fires, earthquakes, gang violence, A.I.D.S. plagues, and other disasters are just the beginning of woes for our country, if we do not return in substance to "One Nation Under God".

Election 96

"The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save US. " (Isaiah 33:12)

Biblically, this was the Scripture that inspired our Founding Fathers with the legal framework to implement our three diverse branches of government in America. The Legislative Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Executive Branch actually derived their very existence based upon the faith of our forefathers in God's ruling position and word. Unlike today's politician, they believed that the Most High God ruled and reigned in the affairs of men and that nations were subject to His authority. They also believed, unlike many modern day Evangelicals, that the Bible not only contained the way of salvation with rules for personal conduct, but that it was God's political textbook as well that defined the role, sphere, and jurisdiction of good government. They were taught at an early age in home school that civil government existed as a delegated authority under God to punish evil-doers and to protect the good citizens of the land. It is important to note that they defined good and evil based upon the revelation of God's Law and not upon any humanistic, politically correct, or multi-cultural man-made philosophy.

As we approach this crucial election year that will chart the course set for our nation entering a new millennium, I believe it is critical for Christians to think Biblically once again. We can no longer afford to debate the burning issues of the day that we face as God's people based upon the premise of our enemies. We desperately need to return to a Biblical understanding of what is God's ordained role for civil government as it relates to and affects our lives. The need for this cannot be emphasized enough. It is clear that, out of the four governments the Lord created and established for His good pleasure, the civil government is the one that is most in need of reform The other governments, which are self-government, family government, and church government, have all been adversely affected by- this bureaucratic monstrosity. The American dream has turned into a nightmare, as our government has spent untold billions of dollars of our tax money to sponsor, subsidize, and promote sin in our land.

We need to awake and smell the coffee! We are dealing with a government that protects abortionists, who murder babies, and then punishes Christians who try to save their lives. This is a government that's produced a welfare state, which in essence, rewards laziness and punishes achievement. Countless people's drug and alcohol addictions are well financed by Uncle Sam who tries to masquerade as Jehovah Jireh, our provider. Through "tax and spend liberal socialism", our government has gone from allowing the pursuit of happiness found in the Declaration of Independence, to now trying to become the guarantee of that happiness. The problem is, they are bankrupting our children's future in the process, with their heavy taxation and forced wealth distribution programs. Brothers and sisters, theft is theft, no matter how you try to dress it up. Whether theft comes from the Mexican bandits who are currently plaguing our southern borders, or through a government agency that taxes us beyond the point of legitimacy, it is still theft. The point being, a lot of the "Robin Hood" mentality that's being perpetrated upon us is simply to assuage the guilty consciences of liberals who are trying to make men good apart from Christ.

This is a government that pays minority families not to have fathers, increasing male irresponsibility, and then provides financial incentives for minority women to have more illegitimate children. Thus the government's intrusion into the family which has in some measure helped to produce a divorce rate of over fifty percent in our land. Of course, the government's answer to this, is to extol the virtues of single parenting, instead of creating a standard that keeps families together. This is a government that has gone into Christian homes to remove children because the parents believe in corporal punishment as the Bible teaches. In fact, I've personally been told by bureaucrats, that we were to give to Caesar what is Caesar's. In other words, children are the property of the state. Thus they violate the last part of Christ's statement that we are to give to God what is God's. There is no question who owns our children. It is not the state, not the Church, or not even ourselves as parents, even though we are called to be stewards over them. NO, the children belong to God!

This is a government that has created "Gospel free zones" that started in public schools and has now spread to public sidewalks outside abortion mills. The Judiciary thought it prudent to remove the Bible, the Ten Commandments, and prayer to "protect" children from the psychological harm it may produce. They actually were concerned that young people may read the Ten Commandments, believe in them, and then choose to obey them. They viewed this as a danger to the mental health of our young people. Thereby, protecting our young from God, they are now forced to supply metal detectors, police, and condoms to fill the godless void. Is it just me, or is this a perfect example of the "blind leading the blind"? Under this government, preaching homosexuality as a sin may now be viewed as a hate crime. I can go on and on listing the abuses, usurpation, and tyranny, but the bottom line is this, civil government must shrink back to its God ordained role and the other three governments must become more responsible in theirs.

The question is, what is the God ordained role for civil government? Did God create civil government to make people good? Is it ordained by God to meet the needs of the people? Did God intend for civil government to be responsible for educating our children? Unfortunately, many in our society believe that is exactly the roles for civil government, including many in the Church. We have far too many Christians who make a private confession of faith in Jesus, but then still continue to think as socialists. This thinking has helped to diminish the relevance of the Church and help expand the powers of civil government. The results have been devastating.

This leads us back to the importance, the necessity, for Christians to think Biblically once again. The Scriptures must reign paramount and be the grid in which we discern these and other issues we face today. The reason for this may shock some, but the truth is, God is right. In fact, let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3 :4). His word is immutable, unchangeable, and unimprovable. It is absolutely flawless and authoritative on everything it speaks about and it has spoken on just about everything. Psalm 12:6 declares, "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times".

It is in God's pure word where we find the primary role, sphere, jurisdiction, and purpose established for civil government. According to the Bible, civil government is to act as a defense mechanism to stop the shedding of innocent blood, punish evil doers, and to protect the good citizens of the land (Genesis 9:6, Romans 13:4). God knows all too well the sinful nature that rages in the heart of man. A base nature with the propensity to lust after other people's property and prone to kill in order to satisfy that lust. In God's wisdom, He established civil authority with the delegated power of the sword to act as a deterrent to such crimes by swift and consistent justice applied to those who break God's civil Laws. Under God, civil government is to uphold God's civil Laws as the acceptable boundaries and rules for conduct amongst men. They are also empowered by God to bring appropriate sanctions of punishment to those who willfully violate those righteous boundaries.

Always remember that the cost of bad government, the price for the civil realm spinning out of control, is the destruction of human life. This is a price our nation can no longer afford to pay. It is therefore imperative that the Church arise, pray, work and vote to reform civil authority back to it's God ordained function. If this does not take place, only two other governmental options remain available to us and they are anarchy or iron-fisted tyrants. God forbid we should stand by and squander our freedoms and our children's future by allowing this to take place.

Brethren, Pray For Us!

"Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me: 'I hat I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; That I may come unto you with joy by the will of (God, and may with you be refreshed. " (Romans 15: 30-32)

With the advent of this new year, comes a real excitement in my spirit concerning the Lord's work through this ministry. We saw tremendous miracles, salvations, and breakthroughs in 1995 and arc trusting God for an increase in 1996. Your ongoing love, prayers, and financial support play a vital role in this endeavor. It is my sincere desire that you will continue to prayerfully stand with us and that fruit may abound to your account as you are faithful in your giving.

IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE,

Rusty Lee Thomas