Volume 13 Issue 9 - September 1998

A PASTOR’S UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL VIEW OF AMERICA

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood touches blood." (Hosea 4:1,2)

Just recently, a good pastor friend called to ask permission to use one of our tracts and some of the message we delivered at their church in Bradenton, Florida for the purpose of writing a solicited editorial by his local paper. This powerful opportunity to further God’s message to an entire city transpired due to an extraordinary, miraculous circumstance. You see, this pastor and his family experienced the reality of the message we delivered in preparation for "Operation Push Back." They personally endured the tragedy of seeing their nine year old son shot in the head right before their very eyes. The harsh reality of bloodshed touches bloodshed became painfully apparent to this precious family as they witnessed the violent spirit of the age strike their son. They experienced first hand the connection between the violence in the womb, the shedding of innocent blood of unborn babies and the subsequent unleashing of the spirit of murder that is currently savaging America.

For most Americans, the proliferation of abortion, the homosexual agenda, and the very culture of death seems, at least in our minds, to pose no personal threat to our well-being. We live in that wonderful state of denial that believes this ongoing party and flirtation with gross immorality is going to continue with no personal consequence. The current mind set is, we can work, go to church, watch TV, and still pursue the American dream, so what is the big deal. The only problem is, the American dream is swiftly becoming a nightmare as we refuse to deal with this enemy that is stalking the land.

The reason why nobody wants to make the necessary sacrifices to shut the Pandora box of evil that is vexing our souls is because we have not been personally touched by our neglect and abandonment of the cultural mandate to be "salt and light." Brethren, as the following testimony affirms, I believe that self-imposed ignorance is about to end. The truth is, God is judging our nation. He rains upon the just and the unjust. The disasters that are bombarding America do not take into account what is Christian or what is pagan, or what is righteous and what is wicked. In other words, floods don’t by-pass churches, neither do shooters consider young Christians praying in school as off limits. Directly or indirectly each and everyone of us will be effected by the direction this nation is going. I believe God does have an answer to stem the tide of evil and to restore the godly heritage of America, but to this point, the Church of Jesus Christ stubbornly refuses to enter the fray. God have mercy on our children!

"On Aug. 5, our 9 year old son, David, was shot in the head at Coguina Beach following a church picnic and baptism. By the grace of God and prayers offered on his behalf, my son is alive and will not have any permanent injuries. Our family has been overwhelmed with calls, cards, gifts, and prayers from across the nation and our community. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all who have stood with us during this difficult time. The media have done a tremendous job of keeping this story before the community with the purpose of apprehending those responsible for the crime.

Although we as a family are now able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing David is going to be okay, I cannot say the same about what is taking place in our country. The police chief of Bradenton Beach made the point that this was an isolated incident and that this is the first time in his 10 years on the force that something like this has occurred. That may be true for Bradenton Beach, but in reality this type of violence is happening across America every day at an alarming rate. Every evening the news is filled with flickering images of freckle-faced youngsters who have shot their classmates or even their own parents. Our television screens are inundated with terrorist bombings, neighborhoods that have been decimated by civil war, and newborn babies who have been abandoned in dumpsters.

It seems that as a nation we assess our strength by economic standards rather than moral ones. The economy is good, unemployment is down, and everything appears to be running like a well-oiled machine. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. We collect our paychecks and go about our daily routines, oblivious to what is really happening in our homes and families. But the bottom line is that we are losing our younger generation. Kids are killing kids at an ever-increasing rate with absolutely no regard for human life.

If you look closely at the headlines of shootings that have occurred across this nation on school campuses, these kids are from what appear to be nice communities, nice schools and nice families. The two boys who went on a shooting rampage in Jonesboro, Ark., looked like Opey from the Andy Griffith Show and Beaver Cleaver. Neither of them look like the cold-blooded killers that they are. This past week in The Bradenton Herald I read a story that moved me to tears of a 7 year-old and an 8 year-old who are accused of murdering a neighbor girl in Chicago for a bicycle.

Why should this lack of morality surprise us when we accept with the same apathy the absence of character in the leader of our nation? We laugh at lying politicians, we turn our heads the other way at sexual immorality, and we ignore governmental corruption. Honor has become a word that is scoffed at.

I believe that the late Mother Theresa had great insight into what is taking place in America. Several years ago at a gathering in Washington, she boldly spoke out in front of President Clinton and Vice President Gore saying that "There is a spirit of murder unleashed upon this nation due to the innocent blood shed through abortion." One third of our younger generation has been murdered through abortion, and we wonder why our younger generation is killing each other. We read almost on a monthly basis of Dr. Jack Kervorkian assisting with suicides and leaving bodies in motel rooms for police to find.

With this lack of respect for human life, why should we wonder why life is cheap to our younger generation? We would love to blame it on lack of gun control, irresponsible parenting or the violence of Hollywood. These certainly may be contributing factors, but the problem is much deeper. We as a nation have no moral character. we no longer see human life as a gift from God. With this thinking comes consequences. Hosea 4:1-2 says, "Listen to the word of the Lord...for the Lord has a case against the people of the Land, because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the Land."

There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing, and adultery. People employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Hosea 4:6 goes on to tell us, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."

I would challenge all who read this article to study Romans Chapter One in the New Testament. It will clearly reveal what has happened to our thinking, logic and morals (or lack thereof) that has reduced us to this depth of depravity. Romans 1:18-32 describes in agonizing detail the folly and subsequent disintegration of a society that abandons God and His holy Word as the standards by which man ought to live. It shows the high cost for low living. It lists the litany of woes that will befall a culture that refuses to acknowledge, glorify and be thankful to God. This rebellion eventually causes nations to spiral down into moral anarchy, perverse barbarism and cruel violence simply because man in his pride thinks he is smarter than God. "Professing themselves to be wise they become fools." (Romans 1:22)

We must understand that when men devalue God and His laws, they automatically devalue and trash the sacredness of human life as well-a life that God created for our benefit and for His pleasure. You see, human beings are the crown of God’s creation. We are far more valuable in God’s mind than any other creature that inhabits the earth. Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?...and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father knowing about it. But the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31)

Did you catch Father God’s heart and priority? He notices a sparrow when it falls to the ground. In other words, God is concerned and cares about the Animal Kingdom, but nothing compares to the value he places on human life. According to Jesus, you are more valuable to God than "many sparrows." Think about the one third of the Roe vs. Wade generation that has been killed in the American Holocaust that could have been spared, if we were in our right minds as God intended and had our priorities in order. Our nation would not be drowning in a sea of blood, and our young people would not be the prey of evil that is now savaging them.

Jesus said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:35)

From Jesus’ words we understand that the human soul is of great value. In fact, out of the approximately five to six billion people on Planet Earth, your one soul is valuable beyond comparison. There is only one unique "you" in all the earth. According to Jesus, all the combined wealth on earth cannot compare to the preciousness of your soul to God. He also said that you can gain all the wealth this world has to offer and still lose what is of true and lasting value, your own soul. The truth is, there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun."

Y2K PREPARATIONS

I once warned our national officials, "The Lord has more disaster planned for America, than you have relief, if we don't repent of our wicked ways." Needless to say, many such warnings have gone unheeded and our nation continues to spiral down the primrose path to self-destruction. We as a nation are suffering under the weight of our own sin and the land itself is beginning to vomit us out. Any thinking person should realize our nation is being weighed in the balance by a Holy God and we are definitely found wanting. In light of this, how should we view our future and the direction we are heading in? There are a number of ominous warning signs on the horizon that America's party with open revelry in our abominations is about to come to a screeching halt. The summation of these warnings are clearly articulated by a Federal Agent friend of mine in a recent book he wrote called God's Final Warning to America, " In this book, John Mcternan gives these sobering declarations, "America is fast approaching the last innocent child in the womb to be killed; the last child to be molested or abused; the last "Gay Pride Day;" the last vile pornographic book, magazine, or movie to be made; the last act of adultery, the last divorce, the last violent crime; the last drug deal; and the last lie to be told to our youth by such groups as Planned Parenthood. America is rushing headlong into a confrontation with God."

The truth is, be it Y2K, a stock market crash, natural disasters, plagues, or any other assorted national calamities, God knows how to make us cry and completely decimate our haughty, arrogant, pride! As a result of God's chastening upon America, have we considered the possibility that life as we know it may dramatically change? Have we clearly thought through the implications of such a scenario? What would life be like if the current system we relied upon to sustain our lives suddenly came crashing down upon our heads? What would we do? Where would we go? How would we live? Thus the reason for Elijah Ministries adding the Y2K Emergency Preparation link to our web-site.

In Proverbs 22:3 the Scriptures teach, "A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on and are punished." Though I'm not recommending that people should panic, I am clearly stating that we should first of all repent of any known sin that has offended the holiness of God and helped to contribute to the moral decline of America . Beyond that, we need to immediately awaken from our stupor and the denials that is debilitating a proper response to a crises situation. Prudence demands that we investigate and make any necessary adjustments to prepare the provisions, the protection, and the care our families, our church, and our neighbors will need. We must believe for the best, but prepare for the worst. The bottom line is, it is much better to have supplies, plans, and an alternative system to live by and not need them, than to have none of these things and suffer.

While I'm not claiming to be an expert when it comes to Y2K and the subsequent problems it will produce, I have done some investigating. It is apparent that this "bug" is going to hit and there will be some consequences (we just don't know to what extent). The problem is not technological, we do have the smarts to fix it. The problem is lack of resources, manpower, and time. There is simply not enough time and resources left to completely correct and test a new system to be compliant by the year 2000. For every one hour they spend to fix lines of code, they need four extra hours to test it. They are way behind in the job of fixing the lines of code, let alone, the time to test it to see if it works. The consequences can range from inconvenience and frustration for a couple of weeks to two months, all the way to a complete meltdown. In other words, the system, you and I rely upon could be gone and we could be thrust back to the days of "Little House on the Prairie," ready or not. One would just have to use your imagination to figure out the huge implications of that coming to pass. The Los Angeles riots will look tame compared to the mayhem, panic, and chaos that will erupt when people can't find food, water, and energy to sustain their lives.

Some would say that I'm just preaching doomsday nonsense and promoting fear and not faith. Let me say that there are numerous times God warned His people to make preparations for tough times. In Hebrews 11: 7, the Word declares, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house..." God moved upon Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream to tell him to prepare his nation for 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. In light of that warning, they moved with wisdom to meet the challenge. In the New Testament, Jesus warned His followers in Judea to flee to the mountains when Israel was starting to be besieged by the Roman army. As a result, most Christians were spared the "Great Tribulation" that enveloped Israel. There are many other examples that drive home this truth, but suffice it to say, if we don't heed the warnings and respond in wisdom, then according to Proverbs, we may become the simple who pass on and suffer the consequences.

I believe with all my heart that God can and does miraculously provide for His people, but I also believe it would be the height of presumption not to prepare when He has clearly forewarned us. Therefore, I would encourage every father to start preparing your family spiritually, emotionally, and physically for the uncertain future that we may soon face. Begin to start at least a two week, or possibly a 6 month or better yet, a one year in-house storage program. This means you need to come up with a plan to create your own alternative system for food, water, protection, medicine, sanitation, and energy. I would encourage every pastor and Christian leader to appoint a Y2K task force in your church to investigate and help prepare your congregation as well. There are many testimonies of churches that are fasting and praying while they are preparing to meet the needs of their communities. This could be an unprecedented time of multitudes being birthed into the Kingdom, while God judges the idols that has propped us up in our rebellion against Him. The church could be placed in a position of extreme relevance, if we prepare now and seize the opportunity.

As you investigate this site, I pray you will find the help you need to formulate a plan to get started. There are a few disclaimers I want to make before you begin. First of all, the sites that speak of the Mormon's guides to storage is not one that we are promoting for its theological or spiritual value. Any religion that promotes to have an extra book of divine revelation or tampers with the 66 books of Holy Writ to justify their bent on religion, we need to renounce and reject. When it comes to their sites you need to spit out the sticks and eat the hay, for they do have some good practical suggestions on where to start and how to build an in-house storage program. Other sites will talk about spiritual preparations, though I do agree with the writers concerning salvation, I do not agree with their "I'll fly away, escapist, retreatist, theology." That perspective has conditioned the church to believe, "Why polish brass on a sinking ship? Why rearrange furniture in a burning house?" It is this kind of theological escapism and cultural retreatism that has conditioned the Church to be passive towards evil and crippled her obedience to the Great Commission. This mind set has conditioned the Church for decades to remain silent and inactive as the enemies of the cross advanced their wicked agenda. The bitter irony is, we actually believe we are doing God service in the process. Let me tell you, if you’re Satan, your a happy camper as the Church through default has given God’s adversaries permission to kill, steal, and destroy with impunity. Thus, inadvertently, the Church has helped to create a culture that is provoking God's wrath upon our heads. The bottom line is, for many in the Church, we have have provided the theological basis and the spiritual climate that is responsible for the demise of America. God forgive us!

Hopefully, our time in the American wilderness will soften our hard hearts, loosen our stiff necks and get our heads to think right once again. Just maybe, instead of the church furthering the problems in America by our disobedience, passivity, apathy, and cowardice, we can be God's answer to restore our land. Maybe Christian families will return to biblical order as they work together to provide for their future apart from an apostate system that is in defiance against God. Maybe, God in His mercy will help you and I survive His humbling scourge upon America to be His instruments of repentance, revival, and reformation that will bring the much-needed healing to our broken, wounded land. That is my hope, my prayer, and my cry! So Be It!

P.S. We should have all started yesterday and precious time is wasting while we procrastinate. Get started now and act like your family's life depends upon it, for indeed, it just might! And remember, though these are daunting, challenging times, there is still a God in heaven who by His grace will still show Himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts are surrendered to Him! Our Web-site is : http://integracom.net/mttu/elijahmin Click on the Y2K Preparation site at the bottom of the opening page. The Lord richly bless you!

THE VICTIMIZATION OF AMERICA

"And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth shall be set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge." (Jeremiah 31:28-30)

First of all, it is clear by this passage of Scripture that the rise and fall of nations are solely in the hands of Almighty God and all the conspiracy theories of man cannot wrest from His hands the destiny that God ordains for the nations of the earth. The Lord has reserved for Himself the prerogative, by virtue of His sovereign will, to declare the future of all nations. He has the power to overthrow and destroy and the power to build and to plant any nation on earth at any given time. America would do well to remember this sobering truth and humble it self before the offended power of God’s holiness, before the decree is given and the fierce anger of the Lord is unleashed.

Secondly, it is important as America inches closer to the precipice of disaster that awaits all those who defy the Lord of hosts, to discern some of the signs that point to this inevitable confrontation with Holy God. Our last newsletter pointed out the connection between the judgment of God as it relates to wicked rulers. Biblically, God judges and restores nations based upon the leadership that He raises up or removes. The book of Daniel affirms that God will set up the basest of men in positions of power to reveal that the Most High rules and reigns in the midst of the kingdom of men (Daniel 4:17). The Lord, by virtue of wicked leaders will fill us with horror in order to grant us a revelation that He alone is the God of salvation and besides Him there is help in no other.

Thirdly, I want you to notice that curious parable put forth by Jeremiah in our opening passage. According to the prophet of God, a clear indication that God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven is when a nation adopts as policy, the ideology of victimization. In other words, there is a connection between the overthrow of a nation and that nation responding by declaring, "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge." The truth is, when God begins to afflict a nation for its manifold transgressions, one of the signs this is happening is when the trend in the culture and the official stance of the government is to shift the blame, thereby relieving ourselves of any responsibility for wrong doing. Again, President Clinton and the First Lady serve as the Lord’s object lesson to teach the American people these truths, if we only had eyes to see and ears to hear. The mantra from the White House from the very beginning has been the politics of pointing the fingers at others to cover their criminal and evil behavior. When pressed with giving an explanation for the allegations leveled against them, all they could do, unless otherwise forced to, is blame Ken Starr or a "vast right-wing conspiracy" as the source for all their troubles.

This posture not only indicates God’s continuing judgment on America, it also indicts the Church for its complicity in this sad state of affairs polluting our nation. Unfortunately for Bill Clinton and America, many in the Church have adopted a Flip Wilson theology that preaches, "The devil made me do it." It is an apostate doctrine that seeks to remove from sinful man the responsibility and consequences that inevitably will come from sinful behavior. In the name of "love" or "church growth" it allows sinners to blame the devil or someone else for their failings. Though I’m not completely ignoring the fact that Satan or other people’s sins do adversely effect our lives and conduct, I do know that ultimately, each and everyone of us will be held accountable for our own sins, regardless, of those sins committed against us. The Church must never allow mankind to justify themselves by the politics of shifting the blame. This was the posture fostered by our first parents in the garden. It didn’t work for them and it will never work for us. Sinners must be forced to take ownership for their sins in order to lead them to true repentance and God’s gracious gift of salvation. The Scripture teach that on that great day when our lives come under the glaze of the fiery eyes of the Lord, that He will not tolerate anybody except Himself to be the scape-goat for our sins.

Brethren, it breaks my heart as I observe the President’s "spiritual advisors" seek to comfort Clinton at a time when he needs to come under church discipline for giving an occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (2 Samuel 12:14). Instead of wounding President Clinton with the truth motivated by love that will set his soul free from the hell that is defiling him and this nation , these preachers are empowering him to continue in a state of denial. On the one hand, they encourage him to admit to some wrong-doing, while at the same time allow him to instruct his lawyers to vigorously defend him against the mounting evidence of this same wrong-doing. Their "counsel" has produced in Clinton a worldly sorrow that is ashamed of being caught, instead of a godly sorrow that leads to repentance and the restoration of his soul (2 Corinthians 7:10). Brethren, the bottom line is, God does not save victims, He saves sinners. The Lord will only be Savior to those who submit to His Lordship. Though God’s love is unconditional, His saving grace and mercy is conditional. There must be confession and repentance of sin, before God stretches forth His saving scepter of grace to the offending sinner. The book of Proverbs confirms this sublime truth as it states, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Proverbs 28:13)."

Brethren, let us pray that the Lord would grant our President and our nation the gift of repentance. Pray that our President would desist and cease his legal and spiritual manipulations that prop him up and leave him in a state of denial. Pray that he would take complete responsibility and ownership for his own illegal activities, immoral actions, and the wicked policies that he has promoted, such as, child-killing and the homosexual agenda. Pray that God would move upon him to do something honorable for a change by resigning from the office that he has defiled and caused to be the laughing stock of the world. Then maybe, God would grant us relief from His chastening that afflicts the land. For the latter part of Jeremiah’s passage declares that God is capable of restoring the land when a nation finally begins to take responsibility for its actions. God promises to build and plant a nation when that nation decides to understand that only the person who eats the sour grape will have their teeth set on edge. America must put away the finger, quite accusing others for our failures, and reject the politics of shifting the blame, if restoration is to be our lot. I pray the Lord hasten that day in Jesus’ name!

IN KING JESUS’ SERVICE,

Rusty Lee Thomas