Dear
Friend, For those who believe that the "new tolerance" will
not affect believers, churches, and religious liberty- a rude
awakening. We have warned of it for years, as have others.
Some thought it could never be. It now is.
A
WAKE-UP CALL FROM HOUSTON
Word
for the Month & for Sunday, March 1
Scripture:
Joshua 1:9
See
Message: The End-Time Metamorphosis
&
the Elijah Paradigm
The mayor of Houston is Annise Parker, a lesbian activist for Gay
causes, who calls her partner Houston's "first lady."
Parker decided to pass a law that would make it legal for any
man who identifies as a woman to use the women's restroom, and vice
versa. Thus, conceivably , any man who wants to enter a woman's
bathroom, including sexual predators, could now do so. The law
naturally outraged parents, pastors, and other citizens of Houston.
A
petition was taken up to put the mayor's law on the ballot and
subject to a public vote. The petition garnered 50,000
signatures-almost three times the numbers needed. But instead of
yielding to the petition, which had already been certified as valid,
the mayor dismissed it as invalid. With the petition dismissed and
with no other recourse, a lawsuit was filed against the mayor's
administration.
In
response to the lawsuit, the mayor's and city's attorneys took an
unprecedented action- They demanded that pastors who opposed the
mayor's law turn over their sermons, text messages , photographs,
electronic files, emails “all communications with members of your
congregation” on topics such as homosexuality and gender identity.
It
is bad enough that such a law was pushed through. It is even worse
that when the public protests such a law, their voices should be
disregarded. It is even worse when a petition to put such a law on
the ballot is dismissed. But the last part of this story is the most
ominous: The government of a major American city has demanded that
pastors turn over their sermons to government inspection.
Undoubtedly, the inspection would involve a search for statements
against homosexuality. In other words, the government is seeking to
marginalize, discredit, vilify, and ultimately punish ministers for
preaching the World of God.
For
perspective-Imagine the lawyer of a Christian mayor of an American
city demands that all homosexuals who were against a biblical
standard turn over all their public discourses, even private
communications, to see if any anti-Christian comment could be found?
It would never happen. But for the pastors of Houston, it already
has. We now live in a day when those who stand up for God can be
subjected to harassment and persecution by the state.
Though
the public backlash has caused the government to backtrack from some
of its actions, the very fact that this could even happen in America
is ominous. And if this could happen at this point in America's
departure from God when homosexuality has not even been fully
established- what will happen in the days which lie ahead.
What
will you do when standing for what is true carries with it a price?
Pray for the pastors of Houston, and the pastors through America, to
be strong and uncompromised- and for their congregants to be just as
strong and uncompromised as they stand by their side.
Commit
this month to live all the more strong and all the more
uncompromised. And may the Lord greatly bless you as you do.
Your
brother and co-laborer
in
His love and service,
Jonathan