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| Pastors Take the Helm in Waco |
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Pastors Take the Helm in Waco
Dear Champion of the Lord and the Unborn,
The Lord richly bless you! After many tearful farewells, the day has come for our departure. Logistically, we are not prepared for what awaits us. We only know that God has called us to become a living parable that carries a prophetic message to America, "America, Prepare to Meet Thy God." Flip Benham and our ministry team will meet today near Athens, Texas. Tonight, we will have our "Last Supper" with our families and tomorrow we will set our faces like flint towards California. Brethren, pray for us and if you think of it, feel free to contact my wife and remaining children. This is the greatest offering our family has ever given to the Lord. This sacrifice cuts deep into our hearts. I've tried to avoid the pain by keeping busy, but it is there nonetheless. God's grace will have to be sufficient.
Yesterday in Waco, despite the freezing rain and threat of citation or arrest, about 50 to 75 Christians in Biblical obedience to tyranny came out to the gates of hell. The police and media came out to meet us. The brothers and sisters in Christ did not flinch. I challenged them to stay or go based upon their conscience and the conviction of their souls. The police came to me to give me a warning. Since I'm leaving, Pastor John Collier from Parkview Baptist Church took the warning in my stead. There were no citations or arrests. Again, the police demonstrated the utmost respect for us and their demeanor conveyed that they were not particularly in agreement with the city ordinance.
We prayed for them and then challenged the folks that the time has come for Christian men who serve in civil government to honestly assess the condition of the system they serve. Anarchy is running rampant in San Francisco due to the "Gay marriage" outrage and tyranny that has raised its ugly head in Waco. How long do civil servants place their convictions and their consciences in neutral just for a paycheck and a retirement plan? History speaks volumes of what happens when government demands of their soldiers or law enforcement to not distinguish between right and wrong or good and evil. The greatest atrocities known to man flourished under these horrid conditions. It was Edmund Burke who summed up this situation in our day, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Good men of God, three pastors, including my beloved pastor came out to defend the children, the Constitution, and their high calling to preach the Gospel. After the police left, I turned this movement over to the pastors and they in turn laid hands on me to send me out with the blessing and covering of the Church in Waco. It meant more than words can tell.
Next week is probably the time when the police will enforce the ordinance against anyone who dares to come out on that sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood. In all likelihood pastors and saints will face citation or arrest for the cause of Christ and for the little ones made in His image. I believe it will be a glorious day for the Church in Waco. Those pastors who make a stand for righteousness, their churches will never be the same again. Once they are cited or arrested, AFA or ALI, two Christian law firms, will come to the aid of God's lambs to be their advocate and prayerfully crush underfoot this tyrannical city ordinance.
As the Apostle Paul said, though he was not there bodily, he was there in spirit, so will my heart and soul be with those who run to the roar of the enemy next Wednesday, March 3rd. Please send out this message far and wide. Invite family, friends, and your church to witness history in the making. This could be the Church in Waco's finest moment. If we do not respond, it could be our greatest shame. The Lord and His babies being mutilated in their mother's wombs bids us come. The enemy of our souls dares us to come as well. What will be your response? Your answer will determine whether or not Christians will be free in Waco and God's children will have a defense.
For those of you who have any questions or want to be involved, please call Pastor John Collier at (254) 744-3148, Pastor Ronnie Holmes at (254) 715-5563, or Pastor John Wachsmann at (254) 715-8068. This courageous stand is now in their hands. Please give them all the support they need to obey God, regardless of the cost. We love you all and will give you updates of our Walk Across America Prophetic Tour.
Thursday Evening, February 26: The Lord richly bless you! This was in the Waco paper today. God is moving!
| Anti-abortion protesters not cited for violating city ordinance For the second week in a row, abortion opponents who have vowed to disregard a new city ordinance regulating protests were not cited when they broke the law by holding a worship service in front of a local abortion clinic. About 50 people, including children, braved the chill and rain early Wednesday to participate in a meeting anti-abortion activists hold each Wednesday in front of the Planned Parenthood of Central Texas clinic at 1927 Columbus Ave. The facility, one of two Planned Parenthood clinics in Waco, performs abortions. In the past, such demonstrations have merely been an annoyance to clinic workers and patients, and to the parents, children and staff members of the Waco Montessori School, which sits across the street. But under a city ordinance passed Feb. 3, the gatherings now violate the law. The ordinance bars "street activities and parades" within school zones during certain hours. Hours for the Montessori school zone, which encompasses Planned Parenthood's building, are from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. A violation of the ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500 but not jail time. City officials have said the ordinance was created for public safety and is not intended to target any school or group. However, many anti-abortion protesters say the code was written with them in mind and that it curtails their ability to spread their message. Last week's protest was the first one held after the ordinance took effect. Waco Police Department officers attempted to hand out copies of the new law, but the Rev. Rusty Thomas, a leader in the local anti-abortion movement, instructed protesters not to take them. He then showed police a container that had the remains of a copy of the ordinance he had burned. Although protesters said they were willing to go to jail for their cause, no citations were issued. A similar scenario unfolded Wednesday. Protesters gathered before the 7:30 school zone hour started and conducted a worship service that included songs, sermons and strong words against city officials who passed the new ordinance. "Not just the lives of children are at stake here," said Thomas, who leads Waco-based Elijah Ministries. "Our freedom is also at stake . . . Tyranny is at the door, and it is knocking." At 8:11 a.m. three police patrol cars parked at the curb near the clinic. As the officers started to walk over to the group, Thomas assured other protesters that legal help had been arranged for those willing to stay and be cited or arrested. However, Thomas said he would have to leave before being issued a ticket or arrested because he is set to depart Friday for a seven-month missionary trip. Three other local pastors — John Collier of Parkview Baptist Church, Ronnie Holmes of Church of the Open Door and John Wachsmann of Church On The Rock — were ready to be cited and or to go to jail in Thomas' place, they said. Police ended up only issuing a written warning to Collier before leaving. He and the other pastors vowed they would continue to attend the protests in future weeks and be cited or even go to jail for the cause. "I believe not only do we have a commandment from God to take the Gospel to the world, which includes public thoroughfares, but that we also have a constitutional right for peaceable assembly," Collier said. "It's really a no-brainer for us to do this. We feel like it's time for us to say to the city fathers that they should let us do what we were called to do." Sgt. Ryan Holt, a Waco police spokesman, said only a written warning was issued Wednesday because "the officers at the scene felt it was the appropriate enforcement action to take." Holt declined to provide a timeline for when officers might start taking harsher measures against those who violate the ordinance. "The police department is tasked by the city of Waco and the state of Texas to enforce ordinances and laws, and the police department will continue to evaluate individual incidents and take appropriate enforcement measures as we feel it is necessary," Holt said. Cindy V. Culp can be reached at 757-5744 or at cculp@wacotrib.com. |
EDITORIAL
Recently an article in the Waco Tribune described courageous Christians taking a stand against tyranny as: "Still defiant, abortion foes protest again at clinic despite city ordinance."
Though there is defiance against the rule of law in Waco, the real question is who are the ones defying it? As Christians and free men, we declare that one needs to look no farther than the city government of Waco and Planned Parenthood to discover the guilty parties. Time and again, our city leaders have become willing dupes for Planned Parenthood, it is they that stand in defiance of the law. In the name of protecting children at school zones, they allow Planned Parenthood to murder children within a school zone.
Martin Luther King Jr. gave this apologetic on law by stating, "...There are two types of law, just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One not only has a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that, ‘an unjust law is no law at all.' Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, ‘An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.'"
It is our city government that stands in violation of the Constitution of the United States, the supreme law of the land. They refuse to uphold the right to life that is promised to every American according to our Declaration of Independence. Their betrayal of this sacred trust allows Planned Parenthood's reign of terror against little ones in the womb to flourish in the city of Waco. Instead of protecting our first and most fundamental right as Americans, they have decided to further their violations by crushing underfoot our rights to freedom of speech and freedom to peaceably assemble.
Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, violates the supreme law of the universe, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." So, who really is in defiance against the law? For every freedom loving American, the evidence points in one direction and indites two parties, our city government who passed this tryannical ordinance and Planned Parenthood this ordinance seeks to protect. They are the law breakers. We, on the other hand, are the law keepers. God and history will bear this truth out in Jesus' Holy Name!
IN KING JESUS' SERVICE,
Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas