June 2004

June 2004

As We Walk Along the Road

Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!... The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways. Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel …. They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel …. Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges’ attire, And who walk along the road. Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the Lord, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the Lord shall go down to the gates." Judges 5:3-11.

The "Walk Across America" started out in simple obedience to the call of God. As it has progressed, God has encouraged us with His truth in surprising ways. We all understand the importance of the white horse. When a king comes riding on a white horse, it is a time for judgment and vengeance. For those with eyes to see, we see the horrific remedial judgments America is under. We understand the significance of "Judgment the Horse" in this living parable that God has called us to. For many of us, we thought we understood "Mercy the Donkey" as well. We understand that God longs to be merciful to us if we would only repent of our wicked ways in this nation and once again stand on what is right and true according to God’s Word. What surprised many of us was that "Mercy the Donkey" was white. We thought donkeys were brownish-grey. It was as we were reading through our Bibles in the book of Judges that we saw the meaning behind "Mercy the Donkey" being white. "Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges’ attire, And who walk along the road." Judges 5:10.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary states that those who rode on white donkeys, which were more rare and valued than other colored donkeys, were those of nobility and importance. They had a responsibility to speak to the hearts of the people during a time when idolatry had brought great calamity upon Israel . He goes on to say that those who sit in judges’ attire needed to take heed that the sword of justice, which brings peace and security, not be struck out of their hand by the sword of war. And finally, may those who walk along the road find safety instead of thievery as they mediated upon the righteous acts of the Lord and turned their hearts toward God.

We couldn’t help but see application to the message that God has given us to live out as we continue this journey. We in America have "chosen new gods." We are being ransacked by the enemies of Christ at every gate. Our only hope is the mercy of our Lord, but mercy cannot be had apart from justice. We must repent of our idolatry in America and return wholeheartedly to the God who made us great. This is our message as we walk along the road.

We have many accounts of the Lord’s righteous acts that have been given to us. We have the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. We have the words of Jesus in the New Testament. We have even been given the history of our nation as men laid down their lives for the Lord so that America could be established. We have much to consider and recite, and it is incumbent upon us, the Church, to speak these things, knowing that God desires to establish His justice in America through His merciful hand. It is as we recite, meditate, and take to heart the righteous acts of the Lord that the people will go down to the city gates. We must willingly offer ourselves to the Lord’s will and fight the battles that are wreaking havoc upon us.

SIGNS FOLLOWING

Only the Lord knows the measure of importance that the "Walk Across America" has been given in the grand scheme of things. We have noticed very interesting occurrences around us. A week after we left Palm Springs, CA, and the Mohave Desert, it was predicted that a large earthquake will hit late summer in that very area.

About that same time, two news items were reported back to back that seem unrelated, but struck a chord with us. In Philadelphia , there was another school shooting. The story that ran directly after was about the Columbus sniper being arrested in Las Vegas. We saw the correlation immediately. We knew we had an OSA contingent scheduled to go to Philadelphia in May to be a witness at the ACOG conference. This is a conference for the American College of OB/Gyns where many who attend are abortionists ("…bloodshed touches bloodshed"). We are also headed to Columbus, Ohio, for our national event in July. What made this news even more profound was that we were headed toward Las Vegas (where the sniper was caught) at the time.

After we left Las Vegas, a blackout hit the Belagio. This is one of the ritziest hotels in Vegas. For three days commerce was disrupted in one of the largest money makers in Sin City . On Monday, May 10, 2004, we crossed the Colorado border into Kansas. That evening, six tornados hit throughout Colorado all at once. Could all these things be coincidental, or is God speaking loudly as we continue to walk along the road?

"Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away…!" Judges 5:12 . It is Deborah who encourages and prophesies to the hearts of the people, but it is Barak, the General of the Lord’s Army, who must arise and be triumphant in the battle. Let us hearken to the voice of the Lord from California to Washington, D.C. The gates of hell shall not prevail as the "princes in Israel " pick up their shield and spear that have been discarded and take the lead.

COLUMBINE OR CHRIST
Walk report submitted by Brenda Spurlock on 4-21-04

A group of about 50 elementary students were touring their town on a field trip as the Walk Across America team arrived on the main street of Rifle, CO. The kids immediately spied Judgment the horse and Mercy the donkey and became very animated. When Flip realized that they couldn't come to the animals, he and Rusty brought the animals over to them. The kids loved them! Flip began to explain that his son Jonathan was carrying the broken Ten Commandments because our nation has broken all of God's commandments. He told them Shekinah was carrying a broken baby. He talked about Judgment the horse, then asked them, "Do you remember what animal Jesus rode into Jerusalem on?" At this point one of the teachers said, "Oooh, you can't say that!" Flip continued speaking to the kids asking how many of them loved Jesus. About 20 of them raised their hands.

Meanwhile, a man came out of one of the shops and started threatening members of the team, telling them, "You better get out of here or I'll throw you out!" He actually took hold of Curtis before finally going back inside and calling the police. The police spent about an hour getting everyone's name and questioning them about speaking to the students. Flip said they told Sgt. Miles of the Rifle, CO, Police Dept. that they believed they were within their First Amendment rights to share the Gospel with the children on a public street. Sgt. Miles replied, "If a teacher doesn't want you to speak to her students, you can't speak to them. They own the kids while they're here!"

After the delay caused by their interrogation, they started walking up the street sharing the Gospel again. Flip said he began to see little kids darting across the street. Cars were stopping. He said there were no crossing guards and there was no adult supervision. The teachers were apparently sending kids running across the street to get them away from our team and out of earshot of the mention of the name of Jesus. He said the children were clearly in danger of being hit.

Flip said there is a connection between what happened on the main street of Rifle, CO, and what happened five years ago, almost to the day, at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a rampage killing 12 students and a teacher. Prior to the killing spree, Eric Harris posted this on his web site: "My belief is that if I say something it goes, I am the law, and if you don't like it you die.... [I] feel no remorse, no sense of shame."

Flip pointed out that in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey (1992), a joint opinion by O'Connor, Souter, and Kennedy declared the following: "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning of the universe, and the mystery of human life." With one stroke of the pen the Supreme Court of the United States of America discarded its historical reliance on a transcendent standard. It paved the way for Eric Harris to commit his heinous crime, for Eric was simply living out the belief the Supreme Court had stated in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey.

The connection Flip mentioned is this: When the messenger is silenced at every turn as he was today, when adults rip God out of the hearts of children as they did today, when God is banished from school as, by all indications, has happened in Rifle, CO, at some point you can expect Columbine. When God is removed, the void is filled with drugs, gangs, condoms, violence, and murder.

Flip said, "As we finished our walk with the kids almost getting killed running away from Christ, we stopped at the police station. There we met Martin C. Beeson, Deputy District Attorney of the 9th Judicial District. We told him the story of what happened, that the police told us if teachers tell you not to speak, you can't speak, and asked him if it was our constitutional right to speak to the kids. He told us, 'As long as you're not on school property or blocking traffic, the street, or the sidewalk, you're well within your rights.'"

"Now please understand," Flip said, "we are not standing on our First Amendment Rights in order to speak. We must speak! It is our duty and moral obligation to bring Christ to America ."

THE YOUNG ARROWS ARE FLYING STRAIGHT AND TRUE
Walk report submitted by Brenda on 5-4-04

Flip said when the team was at Denver Planned Parenthood Saturday, they learned that there have been over 100 arrests of pro-life missionaries at this killing center over the past 14 years, with 60 clear-cut victories in court. Therefore, the police now usually leave them alone. Pro-lifers use ladders, speakers, signs, and just about anything they need in order to disseminate the truth about abortion.

Rusty's son, Elijah Thomas (age 10), who is now traveling with them, and Johnny Benham (age 12), were preaching the Word of God on Saturday. Flip said there's no feeling quite like that of seeing your son preach the Gospel.

While these children were following hard after Jesus, Ken Scott spotted a 12-year-old going into Planned Parenthood for an abortion. He reported this child abuse to a policewoman. Flip said they've noticed that, almost invariably, policewomen support abortion. Flip said this particular "policelady, who was trying so hard to be a man, wasn't at all interested in the child being taken in for an abortion." He said, "She was intent on punishing us because Judgment had eaten some grass." She threatened to sign a complaint against them, which would have been illegal.

In addition to Flip's interview, Shekinah Thomas (age 17) was also interviewed yesterday by Focus on the Family. This quiet young lady is done with hiding her light under a bushel. She told how, even though she was home-schooled, she had struggled with peer pressure, and how she had come to recognize her true worth in Christ.

Flip was interviewed today on a Colorado Springs Christian radio program hosted by Kevin Swanson, a pastor and home-school leader. Flip said, "Here is a man who truly understands about the generations and how we must prepare our children to become the Christian leaders of the future." He said, "While so many Christians have given into despair about the state of our nation, Kevin Swanson remains upbeat and hopeful in Jesus." Flip said, "God said 'I will... give the Valley of Achor (Trouble) as a door of hope….' (Hosea 2:15). He said, "As sorry as we've become, if we will repent, God will do this."

Flip said, "What we saw in Colorado Springs , this city of such tremendous Christian ministries, is that only three Christians in the entire city come out to the abortion mill." Colorado Springs' population is 361,000.

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
God opens the door for two of OSA’s leaders to bring His Word to China – by Tom Raddell

Dave Lackey and Tom Raddell had the awesome opportunity to smuggle Bibles into Guangzhou, China, and worship with the underground church.

We met with a missionary and his wife in Hong Kong where we were given instructions and a suitcase full of Bibles and Gospel tracts. Our instructions were to meet outside of a restaurant at 6:30 in the evening on Tuesday. There we were met by a man who led us across the street and down some back alleys in an impoverished area. In broken English, our guide invited us back to meet with the pastor and to join in their service the following day.

The next day we had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Pastor Samuel. Many questions pressed upon my heart, but the most burdensome was how do we as the American Church prepare for persecution, especially if our country continues down the path that it is going. Pastor Samuel, an 80-year-old man who is filled with joy and enthusiasm, smiled at us and said, "Persecution good for the Church." Pastor Samuel has spent over 22 years in prison and labor camps for his commitment as a follower of Christ.

Pastor Samuel then went on to explain his many difficulties, from imprisonment to the confiscation of their possessions. Each trial was met by God’s goodness and mercy, causing the Church to grow. God truly does work all things for good. Pastor Samuel then encouraged us by reminding us to pray for the strength to be overcomers and then quoted Revelation 3:21, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." He reminded us, "If a Christian has never suffered, then he cannot understand God’s blessings. He is still a child without training. Therefore, when we suffer we should never complain to God or blame others. Instead, we should calm down and depend on God all the more, realizing that nothing can happen to us that He does not allow."

It was an awesome opportunity to sit down and worship with over 100 believers in the midst of this communist country. Even though we could not understand a word they were saying, we felt God’s powerful presence in the midst of the service. It was a privilege to be with these precious saints who risk so much just to join together in worshipping Jesus Christ.

Join Tom and Dave and many other brave Christians as they storm the gates in Columbus, Ohio, July 17-24, 2004. For more information call the Com-Center at 614-759-5196.

Hotel Information:
Best Western
$40 double room per night (full breakfast included)
2100 Brice Rd.
Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068
614-864-1280
Ask for the OSA block

Keep storming the gates,

Flip