This article written by Lisa Metzger, wife of Mark and home school mom of ten children, sums up the thoughts of most of us who attended Flip’s trial this past Friday, August 10, 2012. God’s hand was so very evident in all of the proceedings in the courtroom that day.
Miraculous Vindication for a Contender of the Faith
“The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” ~ Proverbs 21:1
As we read in Scripture, God directs and rules over those in authority. This past Friday, the Heavenly Judge directed a lowly mortal judge to rule in favor of a man of God.
Flip Benham had been erroneously convicted of stalking a Charlotte abortionist in July 2011, which has since been appealed and is awaiting a verdict by the appellate court. When the State’s prosecution filed a revocation of bond late last month, during the Operation Save America National Event, Flip was summoned to the Mecklenburg County Courthouse to defend his right to remain free on bond. Claiming that Flip violated the terms of his post-conviction release, the wording of the prosecution’s motion appeared to have already solidified the grim fate of this hearing. There seemed no way out of this legal snare.
Though all seemed bleak initially, God supplied a man for such a time as this. No longer did Flip need to rely on a public defender that lacked the spiritual conviction to argue such a case. David Redding, a commercial litigation attorney and Benham family friend, was called by his Savior to serve as a temporary criminal defender, just for this hearing.
On the morning of the bond revocation hearing, many of Flip’s friends, family and supporters arrived at the courthouse to pray for Flip’s exoneration, while many covered him in prayer from a distance. Though he trusted God for His Will to be accomplished, Flip realistically presumed that he would be leaving that courthouse in handcuffs to spend the next 75 days in the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Despite testimony from multiple accusers, including some who lied under oath, a very frustrated judge was lawfully obligated to rule in Flip’s favor. Why? Directed by God, Attorney David Redding found a statute in North Carolina that states: “A judge authorizing release of a defendant under this section must issue an appropriate order containing a statement of the conditions imposed, if any; inform the defendant in writing of the penalties applicable to violations of the conditions of his release; and advise him that his arrest will be ordered immediately upon any such violation. The order of release must be filed with the clerk and a copy given the defendant.”
During the initial sentencing, this same judge failed to serve Flip with written terms of his post-conviction release on bond. Therefore, Flip had no knowledge as to the specific conditions and stipulations of his bond, and therefore could not adhere to those specifications. In addition, Flip was never arrested for violating the conditions of the bond, which means that he was never observed in defiance of such, even though an officer testified that 50-100 percent of a city’s police force was present during the alleged violations.
Miraculously, these God-ordained details allowed for this unforeseen victory in an earthly court of law. God saw fit to use a Christian litigation attorney and a previously overlooked legal statute to vindicate a man of God who faithfully contends for the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the streets of the City of Charlotte.
“I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” ~ Jude 3
