(This article originally appeared in NJT Issue 10.)
24 hours; that’s how long it took for Christ’s Kingdom to come near to a Hartley County Sheriff and some Texas State Troopers. They repented of their evil, by restoring the liberty and property which they had taken from a member of the Body of Christ. Before it was over, they even seemed to acknowledge ecclesiastical jurisdiction and heavenly citizenship, in writing.
It was Thursday afternoon, 9-21-00, while driving toward a city named Dalhart, when I saw several beautiful galloping horses on some acreage close to the roadside. Since I was driving well-below the recommended speed limit and there wasn’t any traffic on the two-lane highway, I looked over at the horses. The two passenger side tires of the car briefly touched into the paved shoulder of the road before I brought the car back to the center of the lane. I noticed, about a quarter of a mile ahead, a stealthy State Trooper vehicle approaching from the on-coming lane. Some moments later, we passed each other.
I was curious if the two men inside that State vehicle had seen my misstep and might want to use it as a cause to extort some revenue or for sporting purposes. So I watched in the mirror. Sure enough, they made a U-turn about a half-mile back and took some time to approach me.
They followed me closely for a little while and then turned on their flashing lights, as I kept driving. Then they signaled with their siren, which is when I moved to the right and drove on the wide shoulder area, giving them plenty of room to pass me. However, they also pulled onto the shoulder and drove behind me for about a mile before I decided to stop the car.
Those two men must have manufactured a great deal of anxiety for themselves, because they approached my car with their hands on their loosely holstered guns. I rolled the window half-way down and asked what I could do for these men. The one with a “Lopez” nameplate, asked to see a driver license. I gladly gave Mr. Lopez a tattered, church-style Passport. He said, “Oh, a Passport.” He took it and went back to his car for a while, along with the other State Trooper. Lopez returned, asking again for a driver license. I gladly handed him a church-style driver license. Once again, Lopez took it back to his car to confer with his partner and a radio dispatcher.
Some time passed before Lopez returned to my window-side, asking me if I would be willing to come outside of my car to make some statements which would be video-taped. I knew then that an arrest process was already underway. However, I was led by the Holy Spirit to be quite receptive to the idea of bearing witness to these statists. But I did momentarily consider refusing their offer, by locking myself inside the car, which would have undoubtly escalated their violence and tendency to do property damage.
I asked Lopez, “If I come out of the car, you’re not going to try to put handcuffs on me, or take me to your jail, or anything like that, are you?”
“Oh, no,” he said, “we just want you to answer some questions on tape.” They didn’t want me to remain silent, yet. They wanted more information, so I would incriminate myself. The Holy Spirit didn’t want me to remain silent either.
When I walked out to meet Lopez, and his fellow state employee, named “Ditto,” I shared with them that the Body of Christ is separate from the Body of the State, that they are both made up of people, but that we can’t serve two masters. And that Jesus Christ has authorized and commanded us, in the Great Commission, to travel to all nations (using roads), to teach and baptize them. (Mat. 28:18-20)
They wanted to know which Bible I was referring to, if it was one that contained all 86 books. I reached into my back pocket and showed them a small Bible, explaining that the Old and New Covenant writings are most commonly compiled and numbered at 66, which we call the Bible. Lopez asked me what State enforcement personnel usually do when they encounter people like me. I said, “It can go either way; sometimes the Body of the State persecutes the Body of Christ, and other times they just ask us to have a nice day.” I told Lopez that it may be of some comfort to him to know that I was just passing through.
Lopez and Ditto were starting to set up a good-cop vs bad-cop routine, but I think it was unconscience on their part. Ditto was the heavy. They were looking for ways to build a case against me. They asked about vehicle insurance. I told them that it wasn’t required in our jurisdiction. They asked if they could see my wallet. I was a bit surprised at that, and flatly refused them. I asked them if they were trying to steal money from me, and they dropped the subject.
“We don’t know who you are,” they said.
I responded with, “I don’t know who you are.”
They demanded a Date of Birth, and I told them more than once, “The date that I traveled down my Mother’s birth canal is private family information, which I rarely share with anyone.” I happily told them my Date of Baptism, as a Date of New Birth, and there was some more dialogue.
When they thought they had enough information to justify violence against me, they finally said that I was under arrest, and wanted me to put my hands behind my back. I told them, “You get paid to do evil, I’m not going to help you.” These two men were stunned for a couple moments. They asked me again, to place my hands so that they could more easily put handcuffs on them. I said “No,” and told them that I had not done anything wrong, and that I wasn’t going to help them do evil. I just stood there.