Saturday, February 23, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
Believer's In Jesus Christ Our Lord! THE ONLY LIVING GOD!
Psalms 49:18
For when he dies he can take none of it along with him; his goods cannot follow him down
KEE LO b'-mo-TO yi-KAKH ha-KOL
lo yay-RAYD a-kha-RAV k'-vo-DO
The Bible relates that after Solomon (Shlomo in Hebrew) becomes king of Israel, he has a dream. In his dream, God appears and offers to grant him one wish. instead of requesting weath or llong life, Shlomo humbly askes for wisdom so that he can properly judge the people. God is pleased with his decision, and rewards him not only with wisdom, but with wealth and honor as well. Upon waking the next morning, he comes to Jerusalem and offers sacrifices, expressing his gratitude to the Lord (I Kings 3:50-14).
In making his request,Shlomo demonstrates that he understands the message of this verse: Thiose things that most people chase, wealth and fortune, are the most fleeting.
Have you ever known someone who put up a barrier that pervented true communication? Sometimes when talking to certain people, I've felt like there was a wall of cold steel between us. In moments like that, I find myself wishing that person could open their heart just a little. Do you know why this happens? Oftentimes, it's because that person has a poor self-image and is afraid to let others see them for who they are. But God wants - and has provided - so much more for His children.
What do you see when you look in to the mirror?
Your self-image is the mental picture you paint of ourself. it's important to develop it correctly, because how you think, feel, speak, and act flows out of it.
The shaping of your self-image began very early when you were a baby, and continues throughout your life. Your mental self-perception is influenced by the words of others as well as your own experiences. But because our hearts are self-deceiving (Jer. 17:9), we're prone to a distorted views of ourselves. The only one who truly knows and understands us is Gdo, Himself. By going to His Living Word, we'll gain right insight into who we truly are.
Paul is an example of someone who had a balanced self-image. We catch glimpse of this in 1 Corinthians 15:8-10. After listing those who had the privilege of seeing the risen Christ, Paul declared with humiliy that he was the last one to see the Lord. What was Paul's journey from an earlier, distorted view to this more accurate self-perception?
Before his conversion, Paul had too high an opinion of himself. he had reached the top tier of Judaism and was confident as a Pharisee that his obedience to the law had earned him God's approval and acceptance (Phil: 3:4-6). he was so convinced of his self-righteous beliefs that he persecuted the church. It took a visit from Jesus on the Damascus road to open Paul's mind to the truth that he was a sinner in need of a Savior.
After, Paul humbly adjusted himself to a more accurate assessment. He said, "Wahtever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ"v (Phil. 3:7-8).
When he wrote to the Corinthians, he described himself as "the least of the Apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I (he) persecuted the church of God"(1 Corinthians 15:9).
Now, you might think Paul must of had a terrible self-image at this point. How could he possibly get over the guilt of what he'd done? Perhaps you feel this way about yourself. Is past sin dogging your foot steps, gragging you down into discouragement, and distorting your selfimage? Do you let your failures shape how you see yourself? if so, learn from Paul's example.
Paul viewed himself as God saw him. He didn't let past failures shape his identity. He left them behind so he could pursue Christ. At salvation, Paul became a new person, all due to God's good grace: "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). Paul didn't develop a self-loathing attitude once he recognized his sins. Instead, he saw himself through the lens of biblical truth.
That's what God wants for every believer. We4 don't have to live the rest of our lives with a distorted view of ourselves, living in bondage to a low or high self-image.
The Lord wants us to have a balanced perception based on Scripture. Ephesians 1:3-14 tells how God sees us. We are His chosen, beloved children who are redeemed, forgiven, and lavished with grace.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Monday, February 18, 2019
Native American Poverty in Ohio 2019
Native American Poverty in the State of Ohio:
By Delana Forsyth-Zakrzewski 1/2019
As of 2018, Ohio has an estimated 11,694,664 million people. Ohio sits in the US, Midwest, linking the country's Northeast to the Midwest. The state has one of the most central locations in the country with the 10th largest highway networks in the country. Its also just a days drive within 50% of all of North America's populated
Department of Justice won’t collect DATA on Native Human Trafficking Victims,
Resist calls to collect more data on trafficking of Native Americans despite pressure from advocates for Native Women and key members of Congress.
According to the department of federal authorities prosecuted just two trafficking cases in Indian county between 2013 and 2016. Only one of them resulted in a conviction.
The number pales in comparison to the 1,000 – plus cases that were prosecuted in other jurisdictions during the same time. It also flies in the face of a consistent stream of reports which show that Native Americans, especially women and girls, are victimized at a higher than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States.
Yet the department isn’t able to explain the disparity because federal agents aren’t required to determine whether a trafficking victim is Native American. And it doesn’t plan on collecting that data anytime soon.
“If it’s voluntary information, great, but we’re not going to mandate that,”
Tracy Toulou, a descendant of the Colville tribes who serves as the director of the Office of Tribal Justice, told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
According to Toulou, finding out whether a victim in Native American could end up hurting Native Americans. Service providers that receive federal funds shouldn’t be forced to collect the data because he said it would have a “chilling effect” by making people more reluctant to come forward. ” WE don’t want to do anything that’s going to keep a victim from coming to our victim services providers and getting the services they need,” Toulou said, who is a career employee, not a political appointee of the Trump administration, which did not send a more higher-level official to the long-planned hearing.
The explantion stood in contrast to the stance taken by another federal agency. Jason Thompson, the deputy director of the Office of Justice Service at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said he hasn’t heard concerns about collecting data on Native Trafficking victims. “BIA-OJS, as of 2014 does collect that information in our basic crime reporting,” said Thompson, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Like Toulow, he is a career employee of the federal government.
The lack of data limits the way in which the federal government can help a victim, according to Nicole Matt
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
The Seven Principles of the Judeo-Christians Ethic
When our Nation's Founding Father gave us documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and others, they had to lean upon a common understanding of Law, government, social order, and morality. that understanding sprang from the common acceptance of what has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic, which is the system of moral and social values that originates in the Old and New testament of the Word of God.
Whether each of the Founding Fathers was a Christian in not an issue. their writings, their statements, and their votes evidence that fact the majority of them embraced these great principles as the basis for a civilized nation.
Principle #1- The Dignity of Human Life
The Scriptures emphatically teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. In the Declaration of Independence our nation's Founding Fathers wrote that everyone has "unalienable right," and that among these right are "life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.
If People and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both born and the unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible- it is the first principle of any civilized society.
Principle #2- The Traditional Monogamous Family
Our society has been based upon the belief that the biblical views of traditional marriage and family is the backbone of a healthy social order. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been recognized as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of the union comes children- born into a home a father and mother love them, nurture them, and teach the how to become healthy, productive, andresponsoble citizens.
The plan of God, nature, and common sense is a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. When the plan is lost, "marriage" and "family" become meaningless, and a nation and its people will follow the road to ruin. World history has proven it over and again. Preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.
Principle #3- A National Work Ethic
Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and the desire to give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. This independent spirit has no desire to simply exist on handouts from government or to depend on the generosity of others. It is this same independent spirit allowed America to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.
Americans have had their challenges. the Great Depression of the 1930's knocked us to our knees, but it did not beat us. together, Americans helped one another and lifted our nation back to its economic might. The powers of the world look at our nation and ask where that spirit of honest labor came from and where this work ethic originated. It came from the men and women who lived before us. Those generations were raised to believe in this third principle of honest work, which is found throughout the Word of God.
Principle #4- The Right to a God-Centered Education
We see in Proverbs 1:7 that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." How can one understand the creation without first knowing its Creator? the answer is that one cannot.
Our Forefathers certainly understood this. For example, did you know that most of America's oldest universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth were founded by Christian preachers or churches? Harvard stated: "Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life." Harvard's original seal has upon it these words: "Truth for Christ and the Church."
The early children's text The New England Primer thought the ABC's by having children memorize: "A- In Adam's fall, we sinned all. B _ Heaven to find, the Bible mind." Today's youth are tomorrow's America. There is truth in the statement attributed to George Washington: "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
Principle # 5 - The Abrahamic Covenant
A covenant is a decision involving two individuals or groups statin that they will keep a promise or fulfill an agreement between them. The Book of Genesis records the story of God making a covenant with Abraham. The basis of that covenant was that if Abraham would follow God, obeying His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:5). Abraham believed God, obeyed his Word, and God rewarded him with many descendants, a nation of people now known as Israel.
This principle of the Abrahamic covenant states that if person or a nation obeys God, observing the moral truths found in the Bible, that person or nations will be blessed. If they disobey, they will bring punishment upon themselves. For most of our nation's history, Americans have accosted the belief that good deeds produce good results and that people who were "God-fearing" in language and in lifestyle would be blessed by Him. That belief has been proven to be true time and again. The writer of Proverbs tells it plainly, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (14:34)
Principle #6- Common Decency
Simply put, this is the belief that a decent nation is made up of decent people. That nations, when faced with any trying difficult situation, will do the decent, right, and honest thing. And for the most part, that has been the record of our national history. For example, Americans have given their lives in wars on foreign soil so that others might experience freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world's poor, to clothe the naked, and to aid the hurting. Americans have opened their arms to many of the world's oppressed and given safe haven.
Engraved on the bronzed plaque on the base of the Statue of Liberty are these words from a poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus:" Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your taming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-test to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" A World- renowned symbol of freedom, this statue stands to remind us all that America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.
Principle # 7- Our personal Accountability to God
Perhaps the greatest restraint acts evil toward others is the knowledge that every person and nation will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God. Certainly the Bible tells us that we awe responsible for our actions and we must be accountable for what we do or don't do. It also teaches that there is a penalty for doing wrong and blessing when we do that which is right, noble, and just.
The great American stateman Daniel Webster was once asked, "What is the most sobering thought that ever entered your mind?" He quickly responded, "My personal accountability to God." Webster knew that he would one day stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.
A Call to Action
During some of the darkest days of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln reminded the fellow American that "we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven." To be born in a land of freedom, to live in a nation founded as "One Nation Under God" by those who served the one, true God of the Bible, is both a tremendous privilege and a great responsibility.
While we have much to admire and love and be thankful for in being able to call American our home, our nation is rapidly drifting from its biblical foundations. Our freedom to serve God and to promote the gospel in our land is disintegrating,
we are engaged in a great spiritual battle that threatens our country, our families, and our lives. Only God's intervention will return America to solid footing and restore a moral nation that righteousness will exalt.
As believers in Jesus, we have His call to be "salt" and "light" to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We must take seriously our responsibility to put God first, not only in our homes but also in our national affairs.
Here is a clear and honorable pathway that any generation of Americans can use to protect that which is right and change that which is wrong within our great nation:
Pray: Our Founding Fathers knew the power and purpose of prayer. From our nation's beginning through times of war and tragedy, we have been called to pray that the hand of Almighty God might show forth His mercy and intervene with His grace toward America. Today is no different. Second Chronicles 7:14 instructs us: "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their land."
Process. Within the God-given wisdom of our founding documents, we have been granted clear and certain processes for bringing about change concerning things that we perceive as wrong for our land. From the local municipality to the halls of Congress and the White House, imbedded in the laws and governmental processes of America are pathways for nonviolent moral, social, and political change. but first they must be learned and understood before they can be properly applied.
Persevere. When fighting for the right, we must never cease until we prevail. The battle is not always won by the strongest, the smartest, or the most elite, but ultimately it comes to those who persist and persevere. When soon-to-be President George Washington led his troops into battle during the Revolutionary War, he lost most of those battles, but through perseverance he ultimately won the war. As a result, we won our independence from the British and became a free people. Our Lord taught us that when we put our hands to the plow of a righteous cause, we are never to look back, but to persevere and prevails Luke (9:62).
All the resources of the Almighty God and His Word are available to us. He rules in the affairs of men, and nothing is too hard for Him. He is the sovereign King of the universe, with all power and authority, and He is compassionate, gracious, and ready to extend His love and mercy to us.
Let us band our knees and humble our hearts and pray. Let us be willing to be used of God to help turn this great nation back to Him. Let us stand in the gap and make our lives to be salt and light in our families and neighborhoods and workplaces. God wants to come and bless us, to forgive our sins and heal our nation.
Exodus 20:13> "You shall not murder."
Matthew 22:39> "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Genesis 2:23-24> And Adam said "this is now bones and flesh my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they she'll become one flesh.
2 Thessalonians 3:10> For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
Ephesians 6:4 > And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Genesis 12: 1-3 > Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great: and you shall be a blessing. I will curse him who curses you; and in you all families of the earth shall be blessed."
Galatians 3:7 therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Matthew 22:9 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Blessed is the nation whose God is LORD Psalm 33:12
The meeting of the Second Continental Congress up May 1776 was well underway in Philadelphia when a tall 44-year-old Virginian, Richard Henry Lee, stood before his peers and called for the Continental Congress to pass a resolution declaring their separation from British rule. This declaration would state that the American colonies would no longer be subject to King George 3 and his oppressive acts of taxation and intimidation. Yes, to those present it seemed to be a noble action by Lee, but little did any of the delegates realize that their actions would soon change the course of world history.
Congress did not vote that day but enlisted Lee's fellow Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, to draft the Declaration of Independence for their consideration. Finally, after much debate and several revisions, on July 4, 1776, 56 brave patriots adopted the Declaration of Independence to form a new nation that was to become known as the United States of America - a nation dedicated to a new and somewhat radical proposition that all men wert created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This new experiment of personal liberty and human rights through representative government was uncommon, if not unheard of for its day. Ultimately, at great cost, the colonies won their freedom in 1783, and the American experiment was underway.
Naturally, many questions had to be answered for the new nation to survive. How would she acquire and preserve her freedom from the British and others powers who would seek to impose wills upon her? If independence was achieved, upon what principle of law and government would her constitution be formed? through what lens of understanding would she view the world outside her own people? These questions and many more faced these Founding Fathers.
Fortunately, for them and for us, the source for these answers had already been adopted and its principles interwoven into the charters of the 13 original colonies. That source is the book you hold in your hands today, the Holy Bible. It is the book that bound colonial America society together from Main to Georgia.
Our seventh President, Andrew Jackson said concerning the Bible, "That book, sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests." Not only was that the opinion of President Jackson, but also the sentiment of countless Americans. On the whole, Americans are a people who love the Bible and the God of the Bible. There is no book more powerful than the Bible to shape the morals and values of men and nations to be right and noble and just. It has proven itself over and over again in the formation and continuance of the greatest nation in history, the United States of America.
While either nations have built their government upon the shaky foundations of communism, socialism, and countless other anti-God philosophies, only to see those foundations crumble, America stands without equal as a beacon of hope and freedom in a hurting world. Our Founding Fathers delivered to us a system of government that has enjoyed unprecedented success: we are now the world's longest ongoing constitutional republic. Well over two hundred years under one form of government is an accomplishment unknown among contemporary nations.
I have found a special edition of the American Patriot's Bible, you will find a great volume of both information and inspiration revealing the strong cord of the Bible's had influence that runs through the colorful fabric of our nation's past and present.
Joining with the sacred text are stories of American heroes, quotations from many of America's greatest thinkers, that present the rich heritage and tremendous future of our nation. if you love the Bible and America, then by faith read my book.
I have been trying to write a book that America can relate to, I pray and step out in FAITH, and GOD's wonderful Grace It goes some where. In Jesus name Amen.
Much effort as gone into the quotes and stories included so that the reader can be assured of the validity of that which is recorded herein. To handle the Word of God in a manner is to do so with great care and respect, and that has been done by all who have been involved in this project. May God bless His truth within these pages, and bless anyone who reads it. May God continue to bless America!
Dr. Richard G. Lee; There's Hope America
Leadership Ezra: 8:21- The proclaimed a fast...that we might humble ourselves before our God...
Courage: Revelation: 12:11- ..and they did not love their lives to the death.
Genesis, Author: Moses
When written: Around 1440 B.C.
Theme: Beginnings
Key Verses: Genesis: 12:2-3- "I will make you a great nation; I will bless your name great; and you shall be blessing> I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who cures you; and in all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Key Chapter: Genesis 15 - this chapter emphasized the specific promises of the Abrahamic covenant - covenant that is central to all Scripture. God promises to
1) give His people great land;
2)make them a great nation;
3) pour out great blessing over them.
Foundations are crucial to the success of any venture, from building a house to building a nation. When the Founding Fathers set about to establish the bedrock that would define America's greatness, they went right to the source, declaring that human life beings are "endowed y their Creator with certain unalienable Right....
Genesis contains the foundational truth that God is the peace source and beginning of all things and our hope only hope for peace, happiness, and true liberty we all crave. In this "book of beginnings," we witness God's calling of a covenant people through which He would bring salvation to all the peoples of the earth through His one and only Son.
In The Beginning God.....
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to circle the Moon, entered a lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. The evening the three astronauts - Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders - did a live television broadcast during the ninth lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and the Moon seen from Apollo 8. at the time, the broadcast was the most watched TV program ever:
About six weeks before launch, a NASA official had called Borman and said, " We figure more people will listen to your voice than that of history. So we want you to say something appropriate." Appropriately, the Apollo 8 team ended the broadcast taking reading form the book of Genesis.
William Anders: "We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a merge that we would like to send to you. 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light , that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.'"
Jim Lovell: " ' And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in he midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.' "
Frank Borman: " 'And God said, Let the waters under heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.' And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with a good night, and good luck, a Marry Christmas - and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
In November 1816, after a visit to a Union Army camp, Julia Ward Howe, wrote the poem that came to be called "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It came the best-known Civil War song of all Union Army as well as a well-loved American patriotic anthem.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lighting of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of the hundred circling camps,
They have building Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
I have read the fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my condemners, so with you my grace shall;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgement-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that , transfigures you and me:
As HE died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: "A well-regulated
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Defender: Genesis 14:14 > Now whan Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants...
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of hte free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Having flrd persecution in Great Britain, the Puritans had laws requiring every famly to own a gun, to carry it in public places, and to train children in the use of firearms. In1619, the colony of Virginia had statues that required everyone to ber arms. Connecticut law in 1650 required every man above the age of sixteen to possess "a good musket or ohter gun, fit for service."
THe early laws of America are very clear about this. THe people were responsible for hteir own defense and freedoms and needed to be prepared to fight. Thomas Jefferson said, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right ti bear arms is, as as last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." At the time, there was no concept of a professional army, created and paid to defend the colonies. George Mason, called the father of the Bill of Rights, said, "What is the militia? It is the whole people. TO diarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
With the approach of the American Revolution, the natural rights philosophers had established the foundation for self-defense. Every man's life, they said, belongs to God, and to allow one's life to be taken because one failed to defend it was wrong. This natural law to the right of self-defense, was also applied to the duty to protect one's family, community, and national liberty, a sacred gift from God.
For the most part, the colonial churches, particularly New England's Congregational congregations, believe that a revolt against tyrants, such as King George, was to obey God. It may have had its roots in the Old Testament accounts of Israel's wars for freedom, but it became a powerful fire tht impassioned the citizenry. And it remains a belief that continues to influence Americans' views about the right to bear arms today.
Protector: Genesis 16:12 > ".... his hand shall be aganist every man, and every man's hand against him"
The Barbary Pirates
THe Barbary pirates were Muslim pirates who operated from modern-day Morocco Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, from the time of the Crusades until early nineteenth century. They often made raids on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in places such as Algeria and Morocco. It is estimated that from the sixteenth to the ninnteenth century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Euroeans as slaves. France, England, and Spain each lost thousands of ships in these attackes, and long stretches of coast in Spain and Italy were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants.
In 1783, the United States won its freedom from the British monarchy, which had been paying tribute money to the pirates, and in 1784 the first American ship was seized by pirates from Morocco. Two more ships were seized in 1785 by Algeria. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, then the ambassadors to France and Britian, Sidi Adja, asking why his government was hostile to American ships. The ambassador's response, which was reported to the Continental Congress, stated that it was their right "to plunder and enslave."
After some serious debate over what to do, the United States chose to fight the pirates of Barbary than pay tribute, as did all the other nations who traded in the Mediterranean Sea. The decision was bold, and the United States Navy was born in March 1794. Six frigates were authorized, and this new military presence helped lead to the two Barbary Wars along the North African coast: the First Barbary War from 1801 to 1805 and the Second Barbary Wr in 1815. Naval victories in 1815 ended tribute payments by the U.S., although some European nations continued annual payments until the 1830s.
The tiny United States Navy broke a patten of international blackmail and terrorism dating back more than one hundred and fifty years. The actions of the United Sttes Marine Corps in these wars led to the line "to the shores of Tripoli" in the opening of the Marine Hymn. Due to the hazards of boarding hostile ships, Marines' uniforms had leather high collar to protect against cutless slashes. This led to the nickname Leatheneck for U.S. Marines.
Freedom, Genesis 37:28
... and sold [Joseph] to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver
Taking Leberty for Granted
Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States:
It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.
Genesis 45:5 Faith "....for God sent me before you to preserve life."
God-Made Rights of God-Made Man
Clarence manion, dean of the Notre Dame College of Law (1941-1952), stated concerning the Declaration of Independence:
Look closely at these self-evident thruths, these imperishable articles of American faith upon which all our government is firmly based. First and foremost is the existence of God. Next comes the truth tha all men are equal in the sight of God. Third is the fact of God's great gift of unalieable rigths to every person on earth. Then follows the true and single purpose of all Ameican government, namely, to preserve and protect these God-made rights of god-made man.
George Washington placed his hand on Genesis 49:13 as he took the presidential oath of office in 1789,
Genesis 49:13 > "Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjion Sidon.
Exodus
Autor: Moses
When Written: Around 1400 B.C.
Theme: Deliverance
Key Verses: Exodus 14:13-14 > "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accompish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.' "
Key Chapters: Exodus 12 - 14 God's powerful deliverance of Isral through the blood and through His power is dramatically depicted in these chapters.
On December 17, 1620, a small group of Pilgrims who had left England in search of a greater freedom to worship God dropped anchor of the Mayflower at Plymouth Harbor in what is now Massachusetts. These were some of the very first individuals and families in those soul beat the heart of what we now call the "American spirit."
THeir flight from oppression mirrored a much earlier Exodus, when God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt and into a land that He had promised their forefather Abraham. the Book of Exodus recounts how through His mercy - and through the "bloodd of the lamb"God delivered them great success through obedience to His Word and will.
George Washington, the "American Moses"
Exodus 3:10 > "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," said Major General Henry Lee about George Washington, agter his deth. He was surely that and more. Emerging as the most significnt leader in the founding of the United States, he was the essential man, the American Moses, the Father of the Country. At the three major crossroads in the establishment of the nation, he led our troops to victory in the Revolutionary War, he superinended the Constitutional Convention, and he was unanimously elected as the first president.
How, onw wonders, is it possible for so much greatness to be embodied in one man? After all, he was surrounded by a host of other courageous leaders, brilliant thinkers, passionate, orators, and gifted writers - Franklin, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Mason, John ans Samuel Adams, Hamilton, Madison - almost all of whom were far better educated than he. Yet Washington always led the way.
While much has often been made of his physical stature (he stood six feet two inches when the verage man stood five foot seven inches, and he weighted two hundred pounds), or his courage, charisma, energy, vision, calm demeanor, or wealth, it was his high moral t most historical sources commonly cite as the reason for his emergence as the supreme leader. Combine his sterling character and his genius in the area of leadership, and here was a man who could be trusted implicitly to lead over a long period of time and in the course of extraordinary difficulties.
Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, said about Washington: "He was... possessed of the pure, possessed of an extensive influence, but he never used it but for hte benefit of his country.... If you look through the whole tenor of his life, history will not produce to us a parallel."
Thomas Jefferson wrote of Washington: "His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known. No motives ... of freindship or hatered being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. It may truly be said that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance."
Service Exdous 12:14 >
"So this day shall be to you a memorial..."
What We Can Do for Our Country
In honor of the veterans of the Civil War, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who had been wounded three times during the war, said in a Memorial Day Address in 1884:
It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each od us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return.
"Emancipate! Enfranchise! Educate!"
The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865, completed legislation to abolish slavery, which had begun with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. At Lincoln's request, Presbyterian minister Henry Highland Garnet was asked to deliver a sermon in the House of Representatives to commemorate the event on February 12, 1865.
For the first time in the history of the Republic, a black American spoke in the Capitol, and he delivered these powerful words:
Augustine, Constantine, Ignatius, Polycrap, Maximus, and the most illistrious lights of the ancient church denounced the sin of slaveholding. Thomaas Jefferson said- at a period of his life when his judgement was matured and his experience was ripe -- "There is preparing, I hope, under the auspices of heaven, a way for a total emancipation." the sainted Washington said, near the close of his mortal career and when the light of eternity was beaming upon him, "It is among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country shall be abolished by law. I know of but one way by which thiscan be done, and that is by legislative action; and so far as my vote can go, it shall not be wanting." Patrick Henry said, "We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery." So also thought [this] Congress....
Let the verdict of death which has been brought in against slavery by Congress be affirmed and exected by the people. Let the gigsntic monstor perish. Yes, perish now, and perish forever!... Let slavery die. It has had a long and fair trial; God Himself has pleaded against it. Its deth warrant is signed by God and man. Do not commute its sentence. Give it no repite, but let it be ignominiously executed.
Honorable Senators and Rrepresentatives! Illustrious rulers of this great nation! I cannot refrain this day from invoking upon you, in God's name, the blessings of millions who were ready to perish but to whom a new and better life has been opened by your humanity, justice, and patriotism. You have said, "Let the Constitution of the country be so amended that slavery and involuntary servitude shall no longer exist in the United States, except in punishment for a crime." Surely, an act so sublime could not escaoe Divine notice; and doubtless, the deed has been recorded in the archives of Heaven!... Favored men - ans honored of God as His instruments-speedily finish the work which He has given you to do. Emancipate! Enfranchise! Educate! andgive the blessing of the Gospel to every American citizen!
Integrity: Exodus 18:21 > ".... able men, such as fear God...."
Character Matters
Noah Webster, known as the "Father of American Scholarship and and Education" and author of the famous Webster's Dictionary, stated:
In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect [party] ofthe candidate - look to his character. it is alleged be men of loose principles or defective views of the subject that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. they direct that rules should be men "who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men truth, hating covetousness."
Matthew 5:3-11 > 3)"Blessed are the poor in spirit'
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4) Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5) Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7) Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8) Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9) Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10) Blessed are those ho are persecuted for righteousness
sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11) "Blessed are you whne they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Harry S. Truman placed his hand on Matthew 5:3-11 and Exodus 20:3-17 as he took the presidential oath of office in 1949.
Exodus 20:3- "You shall have no other gods before Me.
4- "You shall not make for yourself a carved image- any likeness of anything that is in heven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water inder the earth;
5-you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. for I, the LORD your god, am a jealous God, visisting the iniquity of hte fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,
6 - but showing mercy to thousands, tothose who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your god in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 - "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 - Six days you shall labor and do you work,
10 - but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
11 - For in sixdays the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 - "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 - " You shall not murder.
14 - "You shall not commit adultery.
15 - "You shall not steal.
16 - "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 - " you sahll not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor hisox, nor his donkey, nor anything tha is your neighbor's."
Honor: Exodus 20:8 - " Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
A Church for Each Parish
In 1665, the legislature of New York Colony enacted:
Whereas, the public worship of God is much discredited for want of painful [serious] and able ministers to instruct the people in the true religion, it is ordered that a church shall be built in each parish, cabable of holding two hundred persons; that ministers of every church shall preach every Sunday, and pray for the king, queen, the Duke of York, and the royal family; and to marry persons after legal publication of license....
Sunday is not to be profaned by traveling, by laborers, or vicious persons.... Church wardens to report twice a year all misdemeanors, such as swearing. profaneness, Sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, and all such abominable sins.
Devotion: " And there I will meet with you ..."
Reverence for the Word
William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878), known as the "Father of American Poets" and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post, wrote about hte Bible:
The sacredness of the Bible awes me, and I approach it with the same sort of reverential feeling that an Hebrew might be supposed to feel who was about to touch the ark of God with unhallowed hands.
When our Nation's Founding Father gave us documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and others, they had to lean upon a common understanding of Law, government, social order, and morality. that understanding sprang from the common acceptance of what has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic, which is the system of moral and social values that originates in the Old and New testament of the Word of God.
Whether each of the Founding Fathers was a Christian in not an issue. their writings, their statements, and their votes evidence that fact the majority of them embraced these great principles as the basis for a civilized nation.
Principle #1- The Dignity of Human Life
The Scriptures emphatically teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. In the Declaration of Independence our nation's Founding Fathers wrote that everyone has "unalienable right," and that among these right are "life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.
If People and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both born and the unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible- it is the first principle of any civilized society.
Principle #2- The Traditional Monogamous Family
Our society has been based upon the belief that the biblical views of traditional marriage and family is the backbone of a healthy social order. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been recognized as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of the union comes children- born into a home a father and mother love them, nurture them, and teach the how to become healthy, productive, andresponsoble citizens.
The plan of God, nature, and common sense is a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. When the plan is lost, "marriage" and "family" become meaningless, and a nation and its people will follow the road to ruin. World history has proven it over and again. Preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.
Principle #3- A National Work Ethic
Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and the desire to give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. This independent spirit has no desire to simply exist on handouts from government or to depend on the generosity of others. It is this same independent spirit allowed America to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.
Americans have had their challenges. the Great Depression of the 1930's knocked us to our knees, but it did not beat us. together, Americans helped one another and lifted our nation back to its economic might. The powers of the world look at our nation and ask where that spirit of honest labor came from and where this work ethic originated. It came from the men and women who lived before us. Those generations were raised to believe in this third principle of honest work, which is found throughout the Word of God.
Principle #4- The Right to a God-Centered Education
We see in Proverbs 1:7 that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." How can one understand the creation without first knowing its Creator? the answer is that one cannot.
Our Forefathers certainly understood this. For example, did you know that most of America's oldest universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth were founded by Christian preachers or churches? Harvard stated: "Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life." Harvard's original seal has upon it these words: "Truth for Christ and the Church."
The early children's text The New England Primer thought the ABC's by having children memorize: "A- In Adam's fall, we sinned all. B _ Heaven to find, the Bible mind." Today's youth are tomorrow's America. There is truth in the statement attributed to George Washington: "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
Principle # 5 - The Abrahamic Covenant
A covenant is a decision involving two individuals or groups statin that they will keep a promise or fulfill an agreement between them. The Book of Genesis records the story of God making a covenant with Abraham. The basis of that covenant was that if Abraham would follow God, obeying His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:5). Abraham believed God, obeyed his Word, and God rewarded him with many descendants, a nation of people now known as Israel.
This principle of the Abrahamic covenant states that if person or a nation obeys God, observing the moral truths found in the Bible, that person or nations will be blessed. If they disobey, they will bring punishment upon themselves. For most of our nation's history, Americans have accosted the belief that good deeds produce good results and that people who were "God-fearing" in language and in lifestyle would be blessed by Him. That belief has been proven to be true time and again. The writer of Proverbs tells it plainly, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (14:34)
Principle #6- Common Decency
Simply put, this is the belief that a decent nation is made up of decent people. That nations, when faced with any trying difficult situation, will do the decent, right, and honest thing. And for the most part, that has been the record of our national history. For example, Americans have given their lives in wars on foreign soil so that others might experience freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world's poor, to clothe the naked, and to aid the hurting. Americans have opened their arms to many of the world's oppressed and given safe haven.
Engraved on the bronzed plaque on the base of the Statue of Liberty are these words from a poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus:" Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your taming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-test to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" A World- renowned symbol of freedom, this statue stands to remind us all that America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.
Principle # 7- Our personal Accountability to God
Perhaps the greatest restraint acts evil toward others is the knowledge that every person and nation will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God. Certainly the Bible tells us that we awe responsible for our actions and we must be accountable for what we do or don't do. It also teaches that there is a penalty for doing wrong and blessing when we do that which is right, noble, and just.
The great American stateman Daniel Webster was once asked, "What is the most sobering thought that ever entered your mind?" He quickly responded, "My personal accountability to God." Webster knew that he would one day stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.
A Call to Action
During some of the darkest days of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln reminded the fellow American that "we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven." To be born in a land of freedom, to live in a nation founded as "One Nation Under God" by those who served the one, true God of the Bible, is both a tremendous privilege and a great responsibility.
While we have much to admire and love and be thankful for in being able to call American our home, our nation is rapidly drifting from its biblical foundations. Our freedom to serve God and to promote the gospel in our land is disintegrating,
we are engaged in a great spiritual battle that threatens our country, our families, and our lives. Only God's intervention will return America to solid footing and restore a moral nation that righteousness will exalt.
As believers in Jesus, we have His call to be "salt" and "light" to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We must take seriously our responsibility to put God first, not only in our homes but also in our national affairs.
Here is a clear and honorable pathway that any generation of Americans can use to protect that which is right and change that which is wrong within our great nation:
Pray: Our Founding Fathers knew the power and purpose of prayer. From our nation's beginning through times of war and tragedy, we have been called to pray that the hand of Almighty God might show forth His mercy and intervene with His grace toward America. Today is no different. Second Chronicles 7:14 instructs us: "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their land."
Process. Within the God-given wisdom of our founding documents, we have been granted clear and certain processes for bringing about change concerning things that we perceive as wrong for our land. From the local municipality to the halls of Congress and the White House, imbedded in the laws and governmental processes of America are pathways for nonviolent moral, social, and political change. but first they must be learned and understood before they can be properly applied.
Persevere. When fighting for the right, we must never cease until we prevail. The battle is not always won by the strongest, the smartest, or the most elite, but ultimately it comes to those who persist and persevere. When soon-to-be President George Washington led his troops into battle during the Revolutionary War, he lost most of those battles, but through perseverance he ultimately won the war. As a result, we won our independence from the British and became a free people. Our Lord taught us that when we put our hands to the plow of a righteous cause, we are never to look back, but to persevere and prevails Luke (9:62).
All the resources of the Almighty God and His Word are available to us. He rules in the affairs of men, and nothing is too hard for Him. He is the sovereign King of the universe, with all power and authority, and He is compassionate, gracious, and ready to extend His love and mercy to us.
Let us band our knees and humble our hearts and pray. Let us be willing to be used of God to help turn this great nation back to Him. Let us stand in the gap and make our lives to be salt and light in our families and neighborhoods and workplaces. God wants to come and bless us, to forgive our sins and heal our nation.
Exodus 20:13> "You shall not murder."
Matthew 22:39> "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Genesis 2:23-24> And Adam said "this is now bones and flesh my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they she'll become one flesh.
2 Thessalonians 3:10> For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
Ephesians 6:4 > And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Genesis 12: 1-3 > Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great: and you shall be a blessing. I will curse him who curses you; and in you all families of the earth shall be blessed."
Galatians 3:7 therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Matthew 22:9 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Blessed is the nation whose God is LORD Psalm 33:12
The meeting of the Second Continental Congress up May 1776 was well underway in Philadelphia when a tall 44-year-old Virginian, Richard Henry Lee, stood before his peers and called for the Continental Congress to pass a resolution declaring their separation from British rule. This declaration would state that the American colonies would no longer be subject to King George 3 and his oppressive acts of taxation and intimidation. Yes, to those present it seemed to be a noble action by Lee, but little did any of the delegates realize that their actions would soon change the course of world history.
Congress did not vote that day but enlisted Lee's fellow Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, to draft the Declaration of Independence for their consideration. Finally, after much debate and several revisions, on July 4, 1776, 56 brave patriots adopted the Declaration of Independence to form a new nation that was to become known as the United States of America - a nation dedicated to a new and somewhat radical proposition that all men wert created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This new experiment of personal liberty and human rights through representative government was uncommon, if not unheard of for its day. Ultimately, at great cost, the colonies won their freedom in 1783, and the American experiment was underway.
Naturally, many questions had to be answered for the new nation to survive. How would she acquire and preserve her freedom from the British and others powers who would seek to impose wills upon her? If independence was achieved, upon what principle of law and government would her constitution be formed? through what lens of understanding would she view the world outside her own people? These questions and many more faced these Founding Fathers.
Fortunately, for them and for us, the source for these answers had already been adopted and its principles interwoven into the charters of the 13 original colonies. That source is the book you hold in your hands today, the Holy Bible. It is the book that bound colonial America society together from Main to Georgia.
Our seventh President, Andrew Jackson said concerning the Bible, "That book, sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests." Not only was that the opinion of President Jackson, but also the sentiment of countless Americans. On the whole, Americans are a people who love the Bible and the God of the Bible. There is no book more powerful than the Bible to shape the morals and values of men and nations to be right and noble and just. It has proven itself over and over again in the formation and continuance of the greatest nation in history, the United States of America.
While either nations have built their government upon the shaky foundations of communism, socialism, and countless other anti-God philosophies, only to see those foundations crumble, America stands without equal as a beacon of hope and freedom in a hurting world. Our Founding Fathers delivered to us a system of government that has enjoyed unprecedented success: we are now the world's longest ongoing constitutional republic. Well over two hundred years under one form of government is an accomplishment unknown among contemporary nations.
I have found a special edition of the American Patriot's Bible, you will find a great volume of both information and inspiration revealing the strong cord of the Bible's had influence that runs through the colorful fabric of our nation's past and present.
Joining with the sacred text are stories of American heroes, quotations from many of America's greatest thinkers, that present the rich heritage and tremendous future of our nation. if you love the Bible and America, then by faith read my book.
I have been trying to write a book that America can relate to, I pray and step out in FAITH, and GOD's wonderful Grace It goes some where. In Jesus name Amen.
Much effort as gone into the quotes and stories included so that the reader can be assured of the validity of that which is recorded herein. To handle the Word of God in a manner is to do so with great care and respect, and that has been done by all who have been involved in this project. May God bless His truth within these pages, and bless anyone who reads it. May God continue to bless America!
Dr. Richard G. Lee; There's Hope America
Leadership Ezra: 8:21- The proclaimed a fast...that we might humble ourselves before our God...
Courage: Revelation: 12:11- ..and they did not love their lives to the death.
Genesis, Author: Moses
When written: Around 1440 B.C.
Theme: Beginnings
Key Verses: Genesis: 12:2-3- "I will make you a great nation; I will bless your name great; and you shall be blessing> I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who cures you; and in all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Key Chapter: Genesis 15 - this chapter emphasized the specific promises of the Abrahamic covenant - covenant that is central to all Scripture. God promises to
1) give His people great land;
2)make them a great nation;
3) pour out great blessing over them.
Foundations are crucial to the success of any venture, from building a house to building a nation. When the Founding Fathers set about to establish the bedrock that would define America's greatness, they went right to the source, declaring that human life beings are "endowed y their Creator with certain unalienable Right....
Genesis contains the foundational truth that God is the peace source and beginning of all things and our hope only hope for peace, happiness, and true liberty we all crave. In this "book of beginnings," we witness God's calling of a covenant people through which He would bring salvation to all the peoples of the earth through His one and only Son.
In The Beginning God.....
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to circle the Moon, entered a lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. The evening the three astronauts - Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders - did a live television broadcast during the ninth lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and the Moon seen from Apollo 8. at the time, the broadcast was the most watched TV program ever:
About six weeks before launch, a NASA official had called Borman and said, " We figure more people will listen to your voice than that of history. So we want you to say something appropriate." Appropriately, the Apollo 8 team ended the broadcast taking reading form the book of Genesis.
William Anders: "We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a merge that we would like to send to you. 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light , that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.'"
Jim Lovell: " ' And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in he midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.' "
Frank Borman: " 'And God said, Let the waters under heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.' And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with a good night, and good luck, a Marry Christmas - and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
In November 1816, after a visit to a Union Army camp, Julia Ward Howe, wrote the poem that came to be called "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It came the best-known Civil War song of all Union Army as well as a well-loved American patriotic anthem.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lighting of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of the hundred circling camps,
They have building Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
I have read the fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my condemners, so with you my grace shall;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgement-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that , transfigures you and me:
As HE died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: "A well-regulated
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Defender: Genesis 14:14 > Now whan Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants...
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of hte free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Having flrd persecution in Great Britain, the Puritans had laws requiring every famly to own a gun, to carry it in public places, and to train children in the use of firearms. In1619, the colony of Virginia had statues that required everyone to ber arms. Connecticut law in 1650 required every man above the age of sixteen to possess "a good musket or ohter gun, fit for service."
THe early laws of America are very clear about this. THe people were responsible for hteir own defense and freedoms and needed to be prepared to fight. Thomas Jefferson said, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right ti bear arms is, as as last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." At the time, there was no concept of a professional army, created and paid to defend the colonies. George Mason, called the father of the Bill of Rights, said, "What is the militia? It is the whole people. TO diarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
With the approach of the American Revolution, the natural rights philosophers had established the foundation for self-defense. Every man's life, they said, belongs to God, and to allow one's life to be taken because one failed to defend it was wrong. This natural law to the right of self-defense, was also applied to the duty to protect one's family, community, and national liberty, a sacred gift from God.
For the most part, the colonial churches, particularly New England's Congregational congregations, believe that a revolt against tyrants, such as King George, was to obey God. It may have had its roots in the Old Testament accounts of Israel's wars for freedom, but it became a powerful fire tht impassioned the citizenry. And it remains a belief that continues to influence Americans' views about the right to bear arms today.
Protector: Genesis 16:12 > ".... his hand shall be aganist every man, and every man's hand against him"
The Barbary Pirates
THe Barbary pirates were Muslim pirates who operated from modern-day Morocco Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, from the time of the Crusades until early nineteenth century. They often made raids on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in places such as Algeria and Morocco. It is estimated that from the sixteenth to the ninnteenth century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Euroeans as slaves. France, England, and Spain each lost thousands of ships in these attackes, and long stretches of coast in Spain and Italy were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants.
In 1783, the United States won its freedom from the British monarchy, which had been paying tribute money to the pirates, and in 1784 the first American ship was seized by pirates from Morocco. Two more ships were seized in 1785 by Algeria. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, then the ambassadors to France and Britian, Sidi Adja, asking why his government was hostile to American ships. The ambassador's response, which was reported to the Continental Congress, stated that it was their right "to plunder and enslave."
After some serious debate over what to do, the United States chose to fight the pirates of Barbary than pay tribute, as did all the other nations who traded in the Mediterranean Sea. The decision was bold, and the United States Navy was born in March 1794. Six frigates were authorized, and this new military presence helped lead to the two Barbary Wars along the North African coast: the First Barbary War from 1801 to 1805 and the Second Barbary Wr in 1815. Naval victories in 1815 ended tribute payments by the U.S., although some European nations continued annual payments until the 1830s.
The tiny United States Navy broke a patten of international blackmail and terrorism dating back more than one hundred and fifty years. The actions of the United Sttes Marine Corps in these wars led to the line "to the shores of Tripoli" in the opening of the Marine Hymn. Due to the hazards of boarding hostile ships, Marines' uniforms had leather high collar to protect against cutless slashes. This led to the nickname Leatheneck for U.S. Marines.
Freedom, Genesis 37:28
... and sold [Joseph] to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver
Taking Leberty for Granted
Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States:
It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.
Genesis 45:5 Faith "....for God sent me before you to preserve life."
God-Made Rights of God-Made Man
Clarence manion, dean of the Notre Dame College of Law (1941-1952), stated concerning the Declaration of Independence:
Look closely at these self-evident thruths, these imperishable articles of American faith upon which all our government is firmly based. First and foremost is the existence of God. Next comes the truth tha all men are equal in the sight of God. Third is the fact of God's great gift of unalieable rigths to every person on earth. Then follows the true and single purpose of all Ameican government, namely, to preserve and protect these God-made rights of god-made man.
George Washington placed his hand on Genesis 49:13 as he took the presidential oath of office in 1789,
Genesis 49:13 > "Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjion Sidon.
Exodus
Autor: Moses
When Written: Around 1400 B.C.
Theme: Deliverance
Key Verses: Exodus 14:13-14 > "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accompish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.' "
Key Chapters: Exodus 12 - 14 God's powerful deliverance of Isral through the blood and through His power is dramatically depicted in these chapters.
On December 17, 1620, a small group of Pilgrims who had left England in search of a greater freedom to worship God dropped anchor of the Mayflower at Plymouth Harbor in what is now Massachusetts. These were some of the very first individuals and families in those soul beat the heart of what we now call the "American spirit."
THeir flight from oppression mirrored a much earlier Exodus, when God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt and into a land that He had promised their forefather Abraham. the Book of Exodus recounts how through His mercy - and through the "bloodd of the lamb"God delivered them great success through obedience to His Word and will.
George Washington, the "American Moses"
Exodus 3:10 > "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," said Major General Henry Lee about George Washington, agter his deth. He was surely that and more. Emerging as the most significnt leader in the founding of the United States, he was the essential man, the American Moses, the Father of the Country. At the three major crossroads in the establishment of the nation, he led our troops to victory in the Revolutionary War, he superinended the Constitutional Convention, and he was unanimously elected as the first president.
How, onw wonders, is it possible for so much greatness to be embodied in one man? After all, he was surrounded by a host of other courageous leaders, brilliant thinkers, passionate, orators, and gifted writers - Franklin, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Mason, John ans Samuel Adams, Hamilton, Madison - almost all of whom were far better educated than he. Yet Washington always led the way.
While much has often been made of his physical stature (he stood six feet two inches when the verage man stood five foot seven inches, and he weighted two hundred pounds), or his courage, charisma, energy, vision, calm demeanor, or wealth, it was his high moral t most historical sources commonly cite as the reason for his emergence as the supreme leader. Combine his sterling character and his genius in the area of leadership, and here was a man who could be trusted implicitly to lead over a long period of time and in the course of extraordinary difficulties.
Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, said about Washington: "He was... possessed of the pure, possessed of an extensive influence, but he never used it but for hte benefit of his country.... If you look through the whole tenor of his life, history will not produce to us a parallel."
Thomas Jefferson wrote of Washington: "His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known. No motives ... of freindship or hatered being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. It may truly be said that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance."
Service Exdous 12:14 >
"So this day shall be to you a memorial..."
What We Can Do for Our Country
In honor of the veterans of the Civil War, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who had been wounded three times during the war, said in a Memorial Day Address in 1884:
It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each od us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return.
"Emancipate! Enfranchise! Educate!"
The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865, completed legislation to abolish slavery, which had begun with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. At Lincoln's request, Presbyterian minister Henry Highland Garnet was asked to deliver a sermon in the House of Representatives to commemorate the event on February 12, 1865.
For the first time in the history of the Republic, a black American spoke in the Capitol, and he delivered these powerful words:
Augustine, Constantine, Ignatius, Polycrap, Maximus, and the most illistrious lights of the ancient church denounced the sin of slaveholding. Thomaas Jefferson said- at a period of his life when his judgement was matured and his experience was ripe -- "There is preparing, I hope, under the auspices of heaven, a way for a total emancipation." the sainted Washington said, near the close of his mortal career and when the light of eternity was beaming upon him, "It is among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country shall be abolished by law. I know of but one way by which thiscan be done, and that is by legislative action; and so far as my vote can go, it shall not be wanting." Patrick Henry said, "We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery." So also thought [this] Congress....
Let the verdict of death which has been brought in against slavery by Congress be affirmed and exected by the people. Let the gigsntic monstor perish. Yes, perish now, and perish forever!... Let slavery die. It has had a long and fair trial; God Himself has pleaded against it. Its deth warrant is signed by God and man. Do not commute its sentence. Give it no repite, but let it be ignominiously executed.
Honorable Senators and Rrepresentatives! Illustrious rulers of this great nation! I cannot refrain this day from invoking upon you, in God's name, the blessings of millions who were ready to perish but to whom a new and better life has been opened by your humanity, justice, and patriotism. You have said, "Let the Constitution of the country be so amended that slavery and involuntary servitude shall no longer exist in the United States, except in punishment for a crime." Surely, an act so sublime could not escaoe Divine notice; and doubtless, the deed has been recorded in the archives of Heaven!... Favored men - ans honored of God as His instruments-speedily finish the work which He has given you to do. Emancipate! Enfranchise! Educate! andgive the blessing of the Gospel to every American citizen!
Integrity: Exodus 18:21 > ".... able men, such as fear God...."
Character Matters
Noah Webster, known as the "Father of American Scholarship and and Education" and author of the famous Webster's Dictionary, stated:
In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect [party] ofthe candidate - look to his character. it is alleged be men of loose principles or defective views of the subject that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. they direct that rules should be men "who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men truth, hating covetousness."
Matthew 5:3-11 > 3)"Blessed are the poor in spirit'
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4) Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5) Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7) Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8) Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9) Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10) Blessed are those ho are persecuted for righteousness
sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11) "Blessed are you whne they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Harry S. Truman placed his hand on Matthew 5:3-11 and Exodus 20:3-17 as he took the presidential oath of office in 1949.
Exodus 20:3- "You shall have no other gods before Me.
4- "You shall not make for yourself a carved image- any likeness of anything that is in heven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water inder the earth;
5-you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. for I, the LORD your god, am a jealous God, visisting the iniquity of hte fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,
6 - but showing mercy to thousands, tothose who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 - "You shall not take the name of the Lord your god in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 - "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 - Six days you shall labor and do you work,
10 - but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
11 - For in sixdays the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 - "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 - " You shall not murder.
14 - "You shall not commit adultery.
15 - "You shall not steal.
16 - "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 - " you sahll not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor hisox, nor his donkey, nor anything tha is your neighbor's."
Honor: Exodus 20:8 - " Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
A Church for Each Parish
In 1665, the legislature of New York Colony enacted:
Whereas, the public worship of God is much discredited for want of painful [serious] and able ministers to instruct the people in the true religion, it is ordered that a church shall be built in each parish, cabable of holding two hundred persons; that ministers of every church shall preach every Sunday, and pray for the king, queen, the Duke of York, and the royal family; and to marry persons after legal publication of license....
Sunday is not to be profaned by traveling, by laborers, or vicious persons.... Church wardens to report twice a year all misdemeanors, such as swearing. profaneness, Sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, and all such abominable sins.
Devotion: " And there I will meet with you ..."
Reverence for the Word
William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878), known as the "Father of American Poets" and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post, wrote about hte Bible:
The sacredness of the Bible awes me, and I approach it with the same sort of reverential feeling that an Hebrew might be supposed to feel who was about to touch the ark of God with unhallowed hands.
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