August 2005

August 2005

Operation Save Denver – 2005!

We are in Denver! It is exciting! Jesus is being lifted up in the streets of Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. We anticipate many babies being saved and many lost coming to the Lord. You will get a full report in next month’s newsletter.

SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR IS GONE – THANK GOD!

OSA Press Release – July 1, 2005

"Sandra Day O'Connor is gone – thank God!" states Reverend Flip Benham, Director of Operation Save America/Operation Rescue. "Although we applaud her decision to step down and care for her ailing husband, her "swing-vote" status on the Supreme Court over the issues of abortion and homosexual rights wrought more havoc upon our nation than our foreign enemies ever have. Mrs. O'Connor betrayed the One who gave her breath – Almighty God. She betrayed the one who placed her in office – President Ronald Reagan. She betrayed the very document she was sworn to uphold – the Constitution. Finally, she betrayed our nation's children."

When looking for a replacement for Judas the betrayer of Jesus, Peter said in Acts 1:20, "…it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,'" and "May another take his place of leadership."   Mr. President, please heed these words!

We pray that you will hearken to the Word of God when appointing a new Supreme Court Justice: "Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out among the people … and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers … He appointed judges in the land … He told them, ‘Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.  Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you.  Judge carefully for with the Lord our God there is no injustice, or partiality, or bribery.'"  2 Chronicles 19: 4-7.

It is time for principle, and men of principle, to stand squarely upon the Word of God.  Politics cannot replace the God of our Founding Fathers at this juncture in our nation's history.

WILLIAM REHNQUIST RETIRES – THE REPUBLICAN FIX IS ON!
OSA Press Release – July 8, 2005

"Note well that to the surprise of all, Sandra Day O'Connor was the first to retire from the Supreme Court," said Rev. Flip Benham, Director of Operation Save America. "In truth her retirement was a well-choreographed maneuver. It tested the waters to find out how the conservative base would react to the nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales. The reaction was not good. But, with the retirement of William Rehnquist, the way is now paved for Alberto Gonzales to be nominated by President Bush to fill one of the vacancies on the Supreme Court."

Pretty Slick! President Bush is now able to appease both sides of the aisle. This is what he did so well as governor of Texas. He appeases his conservative base by giving it a strong conservative voice (strict constructionist) to replace Rehnquist, while placating the Democrats by giving them Alberto R. Gonzales.

Bottom Line: "The Supreme Court of the United States of America will be left in exactly the same ideological shape as it was before the vacancies of O'Connor and Rehnquist."

Sure the Democrats will howl "foul" over any nomination the President places before them. That's what they do best. But all that howling will be tongue in cheek. For they know they will have preserved the Supreme Court of the United States of America to continue promoting abortion, homosexuality, and removing every vestige of Christianity from the public domain.

Reminiscent isn't it, of what Senator Minority Leader Reid did when he backed down the Republican majority who were threatening to change filibuster rules? He howled before the cameras at how much the Democrats had given up to maintain the collegiality and integrity of the Senate and then laughed all the way home.

When will we Christians learn that we cannot depend upon Republicans to fight our Lord's battles!

REAL LOVE COMES TO THE ST LOUIS GAY PRIDEFEST
By Angela Michael

The intolerance of the "tolerant" was witnessed by all. You were told to leave the parade if you were a Christian and brought your Bible. You were told to leave if you were a Christian and carried a large cross. You were told to leave if you were a Christian and wore a Christian T-shirt. You were told to leave if you were a Christian and acted like it. Even striking teamsters against Budweiser were thrown out of the park. Where's the love?

John 7:7 "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that what it does is evil."

Over the weekend as a whole, a sea of over 7,000 - 10,000 homosexuals and those that support them descended upon the St. Louis Pridefest in Tower Grove Park. This included a parade on Sunday in sweltering heat and high humidity.

The parade participants included all sorts of gay groups and clubs, from the Gateway Gay Rodeo Association, whose members threw beads to the crowd, to the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), who wore their purple T-shirts, to the St. Louis chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans.

Through the gentle witness of Christians, love came to the Gay Pridefest in St. Louis. When perfect love is lived out, it confronts evil and sin. Why? Because God hates sin and what it does to people. When this fact is exposed, initially it feels like condemnation, but that very condemnation is meant to bring you to the place where you ask, "Is there any hope for me?"

The answer is "Yes, but only in Jesus." When Jesus came to the Gay Pridefest on Saturday through the lives of simple little Christians, it wasn't long before we found out that He wasn't welcome. Not only was He not welcome, He was called "hate." And what did these simple Christians do to be so hateful? They were sharing the gospel, passing out gospel tracts, including Stephen Bennett's "I was Gay," and telling the truth.

Love came to "Gay Pride" in St Louis but it was not tolerated. The homosexual community called the police and did everything they could possibly do to stop the love. Officer Schreck escorted the tiny little band of Christians out of the park and made sure they would not come back. He said, "This is a private event, this park is rented out for a private event and that is why we have the right to kick you out!" It was advertised in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a free event opened to the public. Two men carrying large crosses over their shoulders were also thrown out of the park.

On Sunday, June 26, we brought love to the gates of hell at Tower Park Grove Pridefest. This time we were allowed to set up a sound system high above the Gay Pride parade at the gates of the Messiah Lutheran Church. For exactly 43 uninterrupted minutes, the Church of Jesus Christ proclaimed the love of Christ with power. It was met with sneers, jeers, middle fingers extended to the sky, and an absolute visceral hatred. Thousands were stomping all over the love of the Christ – the very One who died for them on a cross. Several charged at us with murder in their hearts. The police ran toward us and we thought they were going to unplug the sound, but they came to protect us! One officer said, "I'm so glad you're here."

Many charged up the steps to get us. This provided tremendous opportunities for simple little Christians to express the love of God. Conversations began and those with quivering lips and hate-filled eyes would all of a sudden just stop. They were shaken, they were so mad and yet they would be taken aback by the love and the concern of gentle Christian warriors that were sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom. It was an absolutely awesome experience of the power of the Holy Spirit ministering in the hearts of those who initially hated us and then came to love us.

The pastor came out and realized that there was great turmoil in front of his church. I remember well sitting in his Sunday School class and listening to him say that when righteousness comes to the fore you have to stand for what's right no matter what the world says. At that point we asked him if we could set up our sound system and he said, "Yes." We gave him a copy of the tracts we'd be passing out, but when the conflict became heated and many of the homosexual community were running into his church to clamor at him, he came to us and said, "You've got to stop this because you're being volatile." Flip said, "No, it is a message of love that we're bringing. It's not us that are volatile. It's not us that are angry. It's these folks that are expressing all sorts of anger." The pastor replied, "But you don't have to live here."

Many personal conversations were used powerfully by the Lord, but they never would have come about apart from the public proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord and homosexuality is sin. It is the public proclamation that is despised and called hate speech. That is why Jesus was hated by the world and why he was broken on a cross. He testified that what the world did was evil (John 7:24). But indeed that testimony was His greatest expression of love. When we are confronted for what we really are and our sin is exposed, it is then, and only then, that we can stretch out our hand and place it in the strong hand of Jesus. He will save us. You see, Jesus is a friend of sinners.

SAINTS BRING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST TO THE ATLANTA PRIDE PARADE

Christians brought the theology of the church house to the very gates of hell in Atlanta, Georgia Sunday, June 26, 2005. Yes, theology became biography in downtown Atlanta, when gentle Christian warriors brought the Gospel of Christ to the "Pride Parade" held in beautiful Piedmont Park. This parade marked the 35th consecutive year that sodomites have paraded their perversity and sin through the streets of this great city and spilled into its parks. God help us.

It didn't take very long for these Christians to realize that that their presence was an unwanted commodity in this lust fest. Any person or behavior, no matter how perverse, was tolerated and allowed into the park unless, of course, said person looked like or acted like a Christian. Real Christianity would not be tolerated under any circumstance!

Armed with Exodus International tracts and a tract from OSA, "Michael Jackson – The Tragic Truth about Homosexuality," this little band of saints followed the Holy Spirit's leading and stormed the gates of hell. Their purpose – to bring the truth of God's Word into the streets, and to proclaim that Jesus Christ can set the captive free!

The argument for homosexuality is rapidly winning the day here in America as the Church of Jesus Christ shrinks from her sworn duty to confront sin in all of it's ugly manifestations. If we are looking for the President, the Congress, or the Supreme Court to fight this sin that is inundating us and our children with its perversity, we have got our eyes on the wrong place. It is only as the sharp, double-edged Sword of the Spirit - the Word of God - is unsheathed and wielded that this lie will be cut down. This is the one offensive weapon God has placed in the hands of his people to cut off the lies of the devil. But we have been very reluctant to use it. It seems so judgmental, mean, and bigoted.

The devil is having his way and he doesn't even have to try, because Christians will not wield the Word of God. Abortion, homosexuality, Islam, euthanasia – all fit under this banner. As these lies become legal, and they have, then Christianity becomes illegal, and it has. That's right! Christians are going to jail, while perversity is parading it's sin like Sodom in the streets of America.

As the Christians continued proclaiming the Gospel over a great sound system, several of the sweet folks at the parade took their knives and cut the speaker cords. Not happy with that, they pushed the speakers over, threw water and beer on the amplifier, and vilified everything the gentle Christian warriors stood for. All of this under the watchful eye of the Atlanta Police Department.

But the little band of Christians remained unfazed, and continued lifting up the wonderful Name of Jesus. They were not detoured, delayed, or distracted, from their mission. The speaker cords were cut on four separate occasions. It became very obvious that if the participants in the parade felt that they could get away with it, they would have slit the throats of the truthful witnesses who brought the Gospel of Christ to the park that day. What is it that elicits such visceral hatred in the hearts and actions of so many that are enslaved to homosexual sin? The Word of God (John 17:14).

Jason Dellinger, a father of three and a dynamic Christian witness was one of the gentle Christians passing out Gospel tracts to the well-over 100,000 folks celebrating this sinful and murderous lifestyle in Atlanta. A Lieutenant from the Atlanta Police Department interrupted him and asked him if he was littering. Jason responded, "No Ma'am, I am not." She then pointed to some of the literature he had passed out that had been torn-up and thrown to the ground and asked again, "Is that your literature?" "Yes Ma'am." he said. She told him to pick it up, which Jason was more than happy to do.

She then made it very clear to Jason that she was going to arrest him – it was just a matter of time. She did not like his bold Christ-like behavior. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, she saw Jason throw the torn-up brochures into our sound equipment baggage, which we would pick-up later, and had him handcuffed and arrested. This startled everyone, including her fellow police officers who pleaded with the lady Lieutenant to let Jason go. They thought it was ridiculous, but he was arrested nevertheless.

While Jason was in jail, the police weren't quite sure what to do with him for no one had ever been arrested for littering. Littering requires a citation and nothing more. It became very clear to even those who were booking Jason that he was there because he stood for Christ!

If the Word of God becomes flesh in us, and we live it out in the streets, we should expect that the world will hate us. It hated Jesus first (John 7:7; John 15:18 -21). When our Lord's Holy Spirit comes and resides in us, He will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Those in the world have never taken too kindly to being confronted in their sin, yet to all who received him, to them he gave the power to become children of God.

Jesus has always been a friend to sinners. He will never be a friend to those who seek to justify their every evil behavior. He gives grace to the humble and His Law to the proud.

Thank you brothers and sisters for bringing Jesus to those who so desperately need Him. You indeed were truthful witnesses: "A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful." Proverbs 14:25.

Keep storming the gates - Flip