After praying at Oregon’s state Capitol Mall in Salem, as well as the downtown area, I returned to our motel. Jeanette and I checked out of the motel, then headed for Portland for an entire day of cross walking. You can read about the awesome Portland Cross Walk by returning to our Home page.

After a special cross walk in Portland, which was prompted by TV and newspaper reports that  the city’s largest gang was targeting police for assassination, we headed for Olympia, the capital of Washington and just an hour away. As we left Oregon’s most populous city and entered Washington state, we were greeted by a large sign that also bore witness to why we were walking the cross in the state of Washington.

The sign made us smile because everyone entering Washington from Portland sure can’t miss reading God’s Good News about our Savior’s crucifixion on the cross for our sins, His resurrection from the dead, and His soon return. And, as we would find out later, there are many believers living in the Evergreen State.

But we would also soon discover that the state’s beautiful capital city also had some major problems.

MARIJUANA IS LEGAL TO USE RECREATIONALLY IN THIS STATE

Shoot Dope, Skip Rope, Eat Cantaloupe. A Not So Normal Guide To Getting High.

In 2012 Washington’s citizens voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, aka cannabis. Since then there has been an upsurge in the number of marijuana-related fatal car crashes, reported in a 2016 article in the Washington Post and according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. No doubt, this and other safety issues concerning the legal use of cannabis products will eventually show that marijuana is not a safe and benign drug, as many pro-pot proponents tout.

For now, cannabis is legal to use in this state by those over 21. But, of course, we all know that this dangerous drug is most certainly used by those under twenty-one as well.

When we checked into our motel room I noticed that, along with many other sight-seeing brochures and visitor’s guides situated inside a large wooden rack,  a colorful guide and map to the state’s licensed cannabis shops was also included.

One of the reasons we had come to Washington was to pray that the people of this beautiful state would choose to say NO to using drugs, including marijuana and other cannabis products, even though it is legal to do so.

But I could see that we had our work cut out for us. Read the rest of this entry »

Our latest 8-state cross walks began with Salem, the capital of Oregon. Between 2015 and 2020, my wife and I will travel to all fifty states and walk the cross at each state capital, Capitol Mall, City Hall and Police Stations and hoist the cross upright at each place and pray long and hard for all the people living in that state, including its governor, state representatives and senators, city leaders  and the state’s Thin Blue Line of law enforcement officers.

As is usually the case, Jeanette and I try to stay at a motel within a few miles from each Capitol Mall and downtown area. I love walking the cross down the major streets and thru the residential areas leading to each Capitol building. I get to talk with and pray with the everyday people this way, and hundreds of people get to see the large cross before I make it to my destination.

Arriving in the afternoon in Salem on the 20th of February, we checked into our motel room and spent a peaceful night plotting out my route for the next day, as well as discussing the previous cross walk in Redding, California, where we had spent ministering 1½ days prior to driving to Salem.

A FOUR O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING DIVINE WAKE-UP CALL AND A COMBAT PRAYER

I slept soundly this night, until 4 o’clock in the morning. For some reason, I was wide awake. I felt very fresh and rested, but though I do get up early, this is not the usual time that I arise. And, just like that, a very familiar Scripture from the Bible flashed like lightning across my mind.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” I distinctly heard a still small voice speaking these special words of promise. Because I knew this was the LORD, I also knew it was time to pray. This was my prayer:

“LORD, You are my Shield and my Defender, my Strength and my Protector and the One who goes before me. I ask You to rebuke the evil one, Satan,  as well as the evil principality and overlord that hovers over Salem, the evil powers and dominions that are oppressing and influencing this city, the dark light rulers and evil spirits that have infiltrated this capital’s political and religious structures, and the demonic forces that are attacking and distressing the people of this city. Greater are You who is in and with me than he who is in the world…and there are many more of your angelic warriors with me than those that are with the devil. Lord, I thank You for the combat armor and armaments You have given me to wear as I enter this spiritual battlefield. And, I thank You for being my all-encompassing, all-around-me, surround-me, protective and indestructible shield of divine protection. I enter into Your victory over this city’s forces of evil and any weapon that might be used against me. I ask You to give me divine favor with the people of this strategic city. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen.” This prayer is based upon Daniel 10, 1st John 4:4, Ephesians 6:12, and 2 Kings 6:12-18. Read the rest of this entry »

A BEAUTIFUL CAPITOL BUILDING

This Carson City cross walk is the last of eight state capitals and Capitol Malls Jeanette and I brought the ten foot, 60-pound cross to this past July and August and during the second segment of several 8-state cross walks throughout America and our nation’s fifty state capitals and Capitol Malls, which will take place between 2015 and 2020.

This most recent 8-state cross walk took place from July 19 to August 4, 2016. AND, of the eight state cross walks, this one was quite amazing in Christ!

CHURCH IN THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT

The day we arrived and after checking into our motel room, Jeanette and I drove to a Jack In The Box fast food restaurant, parked in the back next to the drive-up window, walked inside and ordered our meal. As we were eating, a man came up and said, “Excuse me, I am sorry for interrupting your meal…but is that big red truck with the large cross on it and parked outside yours?” Read the rest of this entry »