Untitled Document

This January, in the year of our Lord, 2008, marks several national honors that will be conferred upon the slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. One in particular will fall on January 21st, 2008. Hundreds of thousands will take to the streets to commemorate his accomplishments in the legitimate civil rights struggle. The purpose of this article is not to necessarily highlight this holiday, but to make a connection between the “dream” articulated by Rev. King in 1963 and the state of the “dream” in 2008.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man with feet of clay, just as all men. Not all of his behavior and ideology was as pure as the driven snow. There are allegations of sexual sins, embezzlement, and a connection to Communism, which have tainted his sacrifices for racial equality in America. There are FBI files that contain 14 cabinets full of eavesdropping data that have been sealed until the year of 2027. At the appointed time the good, the bad, and ugly will be revealed concerning the legacy of Dr. King.

Regardless of what may come to light in the future, the “I Have a Dream” speech impacted our nation in a profound way. It was a call to fulfill the promise established in our Declaration of Independence. Dr. King stated, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

He went on to acknowledge the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln during the Civil War. According to King, the Proclamation “came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” Although this was true to a certain extent, King also acknowledged that for one hundred years, injustice still lingered in the aftermath of the War between the States. He declared, “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.”

After clearly identifying the checkered history of slavery and segregation, Dr. King looked for a brighter day. He continued, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’”

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

As we approach the 22nd year of a federal holiday that honors Dr. King, it may do America well to consider another date in our nation’s history. It is January 22nd, 1973. This is the infamous date that unleashed another blight and scourge upon our nation. 35 years ago, 7 blacked-robed judges sat as gods amongst us and decriminalized abortion. This treacherous act not only violated God’s law, “Thou Shalt Not Murder,” but established once again an America default in its promise.

Dr. King addressing the injustice of his day stated, “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.”

According to Dr. King, our nation defaulted on its promise to extend the God-given right to liberty to our black brothers and sisters. For 35 years and counting, we have as well defaulted on granting the God-given right to life to our precious preborn children who are made in the image of God. By framing mischief into law, the Supreme Court in 1973 allowed injustice to raise its ugly head once again. In its judicial arrogance, it has left the dream denied and created in its wake an avalanche of broken promises.

For 1/3rd of an entire generation the American Declaration has been reduced to historical words void of meaning. If slavery and segregation exposed the hypocrisy of America’s experiment with liberty, what does the severed limbs, broken bodies, and dismembered torsos of babies reveal to us today? How long will the bank of justice for the preborn prove bankrupt? How long will we say to our posterity that there are “insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity” to allow you to be welcomed in life and protected by law?

Is there not a cause today as ever there was in yesteryear? Should we not “rise from the dark and desolate valley” of child killing “to the sunlit path” that honors our first and fundamental right, the right to life. Should there not be the same fierce determination to end the night of wrong and usher in the dawn of right in our generation? Should not the injustice of abortion succumb to justice just as segregation succumbed to racial equality? Should not the lies that constructed the culture of death be deconstructed by the truth of God’s Word and our own historical documents? Should not the 35 years of the dream denied, the promise broken, and the national agreement nullified now be made sure for our children and their future?

To borrow more words from Dr. King, surely, “Now is the time!” Now is the time to lift America from the “quick sand” of abortion to the “solid rock” of Jesus Christ and the culture of life His word creates. If the time had come to make justice a reality for all God’s children back then, how much more is it needed today? As Dr. King has stated, “Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.” We are seeing this reality unfold before our very eyes. The freedoms we deny the individual preborn is paving the bloody road that inevitably leads to the loss of freedom corporately.

Many years ago while at the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum I read a beautiful plaque. This is just a summary of what was written. Although a paraphrase, this captures the essence of its poignant message. The plaque on the wall commemorated the sacrifice of those who endured the persecution, the hoses, dogs, beatings, and jails for the cause of liberty during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It concluded with an acknowledgement that all the suffering they endured was not for those who were involved in the struggle, but for their children yet to be born.

Based upon the sentiment of that plaque, what is the status of the “dream” today? How much has the dream progressed? Much in some ways, but in other ways, it still remains a dream denied. On January 21st our nation will march to celebrate with great pride Dr. Martin Luther King’s accomplishments in the civil rights struggle. On the very next day, we will be forced to acknowledge yet another anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, a day that flagrantly violates the sacred principles Dr King stood for: namely justice and equality.

Yes, there has been some progress. There are better opportunities, better education, and better racial equality in 2008. We have come a long way since 1963, but what does that mean to dead babies in their mother’s womb? If the sacrifices of those who paid the price for liberty can’t be passed to their posterity, what good is it? If the right to life is denied, what other right is secure or can be enjoyed?

In Dr. King’s day, segregation exposed our national hypocrisy. In our day, abortion reveals the same. This in why the march did not end with Dr. King. No, the march continues to this day. God’s truth must march on till this injustice is vanquished and all innocent life is respected from conception to natural death. Based upon this solid proposition, let us all give ourselves to end the nightmare of abortion and to make the “dream” come true for all Americans once and for all, the born and preborn!

YEAR IN REVIEW

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

As with most years, 2007 presented great challenges and wonderful opportunities. There were mountain peak highs and valleys of deep lows. Regardless, the Thomas Nation and Elijah Ministries muddled through the year seeking to love, serve, and please the Lord.

The following are just a few highlights. Besides loving, caring, and educating our 12 remaining children in the Thomas Nation household, we were privileged to participate in two leadership conferences. One was the Kingdom Leadership Institute and the other was the Pass the Salt Leadership Institute, which is based upon the KLI model. Both seminars allowed us to invest in the future of young people to equip them to be leaders a time like this demands.

Rachel’s Park Memorial had more visitors in 2007 who were transformed by the power of God. One of the more famous was the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Alveda King. To commemorate the loss of her children to abortion she wrote for the Wall of Remembrance, “Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.

"The Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the future of his children for immediate personal comfort and safety." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Phillip-1971 Jessica-1973 Raphael-miscarried

Dr. Alveda C. King

2007 also brought with it two great victories in the culture wars. First, Wal-mart did a major about face. They were one of the first major corporations to free themselves from being entangled in the homosexual corporate shakedowns. They quit giving to the homosexual agenda and then refused to grant domestic partnership benefits. The second great triumph came with the defeat of the dangerous and tyrannical “Hate Crimes” legislation which threatened our freedom of speech and religion. The entire agenda recently went down in flames. At least for now, there is still liberty to proclaim to those held captive by homosexual lust that they can be set free by the power of the Gospel truth.

Towards the end of the year, Elijah Ministries participated in the Forty Days of Life event. It was a national call to fast and pray to end the American holocaust. On a personal note, it was my first time I went without solid food for the entire forty days. As our schedule permitted, we went to the gates of hell each day during this consecrated time to seek the Lord and fulfill 2 Chronicles 7:14 which states, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Lastly, Elijah Ministries sought to alert, assist, and equip the Church in Marlin and Mexia Texas from the onslaught of Planned Parenthood’s wicked agenda. Planned Parenthood expanded their hellish territory into these rural towns of Texas. We did our best to expose their hidden works of darkness to these unsuspecting hamlets.

MONTHLY SUPPORT

“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.” (Philippians 4:10)

As we say good-bye to 2007 and hello to 2008, our many thanks to those who have supported our ministry. Nothing of significance could have been accomplished apart from your love, prayers, and financial support. We remain on the frontlines as good soldiers of Jesus Christ based upon the faithful supplies that come in each month. If you are moved by the Spirit of God as a Church, family, or individual to establish the much needed funding we need each month to pour ourselves out in God’s service, we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for prayerfully considering this important request.