Volume 17 Issue 12 - December 2002 MERRY CHRISTMAS 2002 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us." (Matthew 1:23) Thanks to the diligent efforts of Pastor Flip Benham and Operation Save America, we are able to send you the 2003 Bible Reading Schedule as our gift to you this holiday season. We can provide the hard copy, but you must provide the discipline to read through the entire Bible in one year. I would especially encourage the fathers of households to model this goal before your children and lead them in the Scriptures. It is a quality commitment that is without regret. The Lord richly bless each and everyone you! Merry Christmas! (To those of you who receive this via our website, if you contact us, will send you one in the mail.) S.O.S. TITANIC A couple of days ago, by God’s grace, I completed the writing of our new play called the S.O.S. Titanic. The S.O.S. portion of the title stands for Save Our Souls. Our plan is to perform this production on the following dates, April 11, 12, 13, 2003. This is the weekend right before the actual anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic which started to occur on April 14th and finally sank on April 15th, 1912. The following text is a little teaser to give you a sense of the play. The two major themes that will be heralded is authentic Biblical manhood that lays down its life for "Women and Children First" and a strong Evangelical call for salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. The latter theme is accomplished by the heroic legacy of the preacher man, John Harper. LAST CONVERT: Charles Dickens, the author of the famous book, "A Tale of Two Cities," began his treasured work with the classical statement, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." If that statement aptly defines the age of the French Revolution, it most certainly rings true for the age of the Titanic. Ours was a time of contagious optimism. There seemed to be no limit to man’s quest for utopia. It was most certainly the best of times, a time of wisdom, science, discovery, humanistic achievement and advancement. Man, through his mastery of technology, was on the verge of creating a veritable heaven on earth. The Titanic was the embodiment and crowning success of that pursuit. We truly believed man had created the ultimate representation of his pride, innermost dreams, and aspirations. We now had the wherewithal to best nature and if the truth be known, even outdo God. We had within our grasp, man’s revenge against the hostile elements. Science, our new god, had arisen with unprecedented might and power. Man’s new deity was slowly but surely replacing the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of man’s salvation. And even if the old God existed, He could not sink the unsinkable. Right? Wrong! On April 14th, in the year of our Lord 1912, the world had an abrupt reality check. We started to rub our collective eyeballs at approximately 11:40 pm. The next day the world had awaken with a rude start. The unsinkable Titanic had come to rest on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean. 1635 souls sank and perished with this mighty maiden of the sea. It was and remains a modern tragedy of Biblical proportions. In an instant, the wisdom of the age was exposed for what it truly was, humanistic folly. In a flash, our arrogance and pride came crashing down as the Titanic humbly submitted to the demands of the laws of nature and of nature’s God. In one divine second, all of our man-made idols were rendered useless and vain. As a man of means, my only recourse was to simply walk to the rail, open my wallet, and pour out all its contents into the watery abyss. Somehow my wealth lacked the luster and shine it once had. For some bizarre reason all the money in the world seemed incapable of paying for my much needed rescue. It was at this critical juncture that a man with fire in his eyes and love in his heart approached me. It was none other than John Harper, the preacher man. As he came near, he was taking off his life vest…(scene transitions back to the Titanic) For those who would be interested in performing the play in your area, please contact us and we will send you the script. We would also be available to help you with some direction if needed. THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY Recently, a young man by the name of Stephen Bennett appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s talk show. Stephen Bennett is a former homosexual that has been gloriously saved and delivered by the power of the Gospel of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, he has become a powerful witness against the homosexual agenda. Mr. Bennett is also a strong evangelist as well. God is using him to lead homosexuals out of the darkness of that perverse lifestyle to see them translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13). It was made clear that Mr. O’Reilly’s real agenda was to throw Mr. Bennett into a lion’s den to tear him to pieces. He did his best to discredit Steve’s testimony, murky the waters of the Gospel truth, and to attack God’s word as irrelevant and non-applicable today. The far greater problem with this attack is most Christians in America would have probably applauded Bill O’Reilly as he exalted his human reason over the divine revelation of God’s Law/Word. This is my response to him and as of yet no reply. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unholy Alliance, City of Waco and Planned Parenthood "For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14) On Monday, October 28, 2002, Waco Right to Life, Elijah Ministries, and concerned citizens of Waco are holding a press conference at 4 pm. The press conference will be conducted at the Ross Street Planned Parenthood clinic. The address is 1121 Ross Ave. The press conference will coincide with Planned Parenthood’s "Open House" celebration. The essence of the press conference will deal with our objection to the city of Waco for granting Planned Parenthood’s private library the status of a fully functional branch of the McLennan County Library system. The legal, political, financial, and moral aspects of this contractual agreement will be addressed. One of the spokespersons, Donna Jernigan said, "We are disturbed that this accommodation between Planned Parenthood and the city of Waco took place without much public disclosure or consideration." The Reverend Rusty Lee Thomas of Elijah Ministries declared, "Regardless of the legal ramifications of this situation, we are deeply disappointed in the civil leadership of the city of Waco for allowing this unholy alliance between them and Planned Parenthood to exist. By granting them this status, they give credence and legitimacy to an odious organization. One that slays the unborn for blood money, promotes a racist, genocidal agenda, spreads immorality, and provides a safe haven for pedophiles who abuse our children. If the city of Waco will salvage any moral authority to govern righteously in this city, this illicit partnership must end in Jesus’ Holy Name!" As a result of establishing the spiritual, moral, and ethical problems associated with the unholy alliance between Planned Parenthood and the City of Waco, discrepancies have been discovered. Number one, Planned Parenthood has boasted and printed upon their letter head literature that they are an official branch of the McLennan County Public library system. Recently in the newspaper, the chairwoman of the Waco McLennan County library commission, Betty Crook, denied that assertion. Secondly, The City Manager, Kathy Rice, admitted the agreement was established without input from the library board. She indicated that in the future such an agreement will have to get the approval of both the city council and the library board. This, of course, exposes the fact that this whole conspiracy was arranged behind close doors hidden from the tax paying citizens of McLennan County. Finally, some of our ladies sought to exercise their constitutional rights and visit this "public" library and were denied access. While other citizens were welcomed to the "Open House" celebration and new library, these women were banned. What was their crime that demanded this draconian discrimination? They were tax payers who were Christian/Pro-life believers. When one finds himself in a position of defending the indefensible, is it any wonder injustice like this exists. If our first and fundamental right to life is in jeopardy, what other right can be secure. Brothers and sisters, keep your eyes and ears open to this new Planned Parenthood maneuver. Make sure they are not able to implement this deceptive strategy in your hometown. They are looking to city government to sanitize their evil and spread their wicked propaganda. They must have their literature made available to our young to activate them sexually in order to justify their "services." Demand creates supply and Planned Parenthood will continue to make a killing if not stopped. SELF-GOVERNMENT KEY TO FREEDOM The great theme of this article is self-government is the key to freedom. This statement, more than most, aptly defines the true success in America’s experiment in liberty. This statement also carries a clarion call to reclaim and restore its ancient boundaries in the lives of Americans. This must be accomplished before we completely turn our remaining liberties into the prevailing licentiousness of the age. If we shrink back in this sacred duty an unsuspecting posterity will inherit the wicked chains of bondage that are being forged, even as I write. Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, stated, "A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about…America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture." The truth President Wilson was seeking to communicate is, if we do not know where we have been, we have no idea where we are going. If we do not know what we’ve had, we have no clue as to what we are losing. Without understanding and a firm grasp of history, untainted by the politically and religiously correct revisionism of today, we will continue to be tossed to and fro with every pagan and humanistic fancy that will surely continue to undermine and erode the righteous foundations of our nation. James Madison, the fourth President of the United States and chief architect of the Constitution made this remarkable statement, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to government ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." Our Founding Fathers, though brilliant, were not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The practice of slavery was one of their most obvious sinful defects. This failure however, does not diminish the fact that they still understood the secret to true liberty, which is, self-governing ourselves under God. John Adams declared that only a virtuous, moral, and religious people can truly be free. He adovcated the idea that the avarice and sinful passions of men unbridled by morality and religion would bust through our Constitution like a whale through a net. George Washington declared, "It is impossible to rule without God and the Bible." He also warned that no man should dare to proclaim himself a patriot if would subvert the word of God and remove the only two sure pillars of our liberty, which is religion and morality. A man by the name of Robert Winthrop summarizes this article well, he declared, "All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they have of stringent State Government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them, or a power without them; either by the word of God, or by the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or by the bayonet." Which we will we choose, America? Which road will we take and where will it lead? Will it lead to true freedom and liberty or will it lead us down the primrose path to perdition? Generations yet to be born await our decision. I will conclude this short sermon of self-government with a passage from Scripture. Proverbs 28:2 declares, "Because of the transgression of the land, many are the princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge right will be prolonged." America has become a lawless land. We have lost our ability to government ourselves according to God’s word. As a result, our sin has automatically increased the size and scope of civil government to crush our freedoms (Homeland Security for starters). Why? Because we have lost the moral fortitude to properly handle our freedoms. We have defined freedom as the ability to do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it, and with whomever we want to do it with. This is a distortion of true freedom that our Lord shed His blood and died to secure for us on the cruel cross. True freedom, according to our Lord, and this is consistent with the understanding of our Founding Fathers is, freedom is the ability to do what is right and the power to do as we ought according to the grace of God. For Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty! I will not give a long drawn appeal to help us financially. Suffice it to say, we are enduring one of the worst financial crunches in our lifetime. If you can help, we would most certainly be grateful. Thanks for considering our family and ministry in your giving this holiday season. IN KING JESUS' SERVICE, Rusty, Liz, and the Thomas Nation P.O. Box 3126 Voice: (254) 836-1037 Websites: http://www.mttu.com/elijahmin http://www.rachelsparkmemorial.org http://www.operationsaveamerica.org http://www.jesusisthestandard.org |