God Bless America.
America, bless God for all He has done for you.
Are you grateful for the freedoms your Creator has endowed you with
and allowed to flourish in this country of ours?
Do you know where those freedoms came from?
While driving home, we saw a large sign on someone's lawn that read:
This corner of America still trusts in God. We really liked that.
One of the blogs I read has a tagline that reads something like this:
This is God's farm. We just get to live here.
I like that, too.
We attended our church's annual picnic today (which is usually around the Fourth of July, which perhaps explains my patriotic leanings tonight). While there, I spotted that beautiful sunset over the flag and I just had to capture the moment.
Here is a song to go with my theme of God and our nation. It's very powerful. I will warn you that it is not a quiet song at the end (but it's loud in a good way...it might be rated PG for appropriately addressed content). This one, America Again by Carman is convicting. Listen carefully to the lyrics and watch the video HERE.
Today's Sermon Sunday is from D. James Kennedy, a pastor I highly respected and enjoyed listening to for many years. He is with the Lord now, but his wise words live on. Amazingly, I came up with this topic completely separately from any search for sermons this week...yet, the sermon posted on his Coral Ridge website for today is exactly what I want to address! The talk is called: Is This a Christian Nation? It is not very long, but it is an important reminder that we need to remember where we came from and how we got to where we are today.
I have heard it said that a nation that will not remember history is doomed to repeat it. I don't think the doomed part was referring to good things...do you? What I see happening now in our country and culture is not particularly good, overall. Let's do something about it...together.
After getting fired up with Dr. Kennedy, move on over to the The Christian Worldview website for a radio interview with David Barton of Wallbuilders, who talks about the importance of remembering that we live in a Christian nation...no matter what the liberal politicians today want us to think (listen to both parts for the full story).
Here is a scripture to meditate on today: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2.
Here are a few thoughts from our Founding Fathers
about Jesus and Christianity.
Here is an interesting paper on America's religious heritage as shown by the first Presidential inauguration (both of the previous two resources were found on Wallbuilders.com).
Lastly, if you have never attended a Worldview Weekend, you should check HERE for one in your area. It is a life changing experience. HERE is a listing of some of their speakers. The lineup is incredible.
If you cannot find one near you, you can take the course online very inexpensively HERE. This is a great idea for homeschoolers. I think our oldest homeschooler will be completing this course this year with me.
If you want to find out whether you need more worldview training, take this FREE TEST (you do have to register). If your Worldview Score is excellent, Wallbuilders will send you a framable quality certificate for FREE! Take the challenge...
You can also request a free Worldview Magazine HERE.
A closing song for you to ponder: Heal Our Land by Michael Card.
I pray that your Sunday is an inspiring and blessed one,
Heather
2 comments:
Hi Heather,
I found your website on Farm Hands Companion, Pa Mac is too much fun. I love his videos. Anyway, I just had to comment here because I once followed Wallbuilders, and D.James Kennedy too. And boy oh boy did Dr. Kennedy fire me up! Just to let you know, I'm not trying to be contentious with the following commentary and questions. I'm really curious as to what you have studied on your own regarding our nation, because I used to think this was a "Christian" nation too.
After a great personal loss, I really started to look deeply into many many things, looking for the truth, and one of them was the claim that our nation is a Christian nation. During my search I was faced with the challenge to address George Washington's well documented involvement in Freemasonry. This was really tough for me to do, because the loved one I lost, really admired him. But in the spirit of my objective search for truth, it had to be done. In my studies, I found that Freemasonry is more than a secret gentlemen's club, at its core, it mocks Jesus Christ and honors Lucifer as being nature's god. Well, we know who Lucifer really is, right? Have you studied this topic?
Also I am curious as to what you think regarding the Biblical mandate for Christians to obey every and all government officials God put in authority over us whether they are Christians or not. We are mandated to follow the law and pay taxes. Also, as I understand it, the only time Christians are to disobey is in regards to worshiping a false god. When faced with the choice of worshiping a false god or dying, it is understood that the Christian's life is to be forfeit. Rebelling against the king in regards to over taxation, as the founding fathers did, was never an option.
Anyway, I have since come to the realization that a nation built on disobedience and rebellion against God ordained authority (King George III in this case)can't possible have Christian roots.
Even though I am grateful to God that I live in a nation that offers many freedoms, I simply can't accept the notion that this is a Christian nation, when it really isn't and in reality never was.
Heather Z.
Perhaps I am an optimist, but I choose to believe that there were many who came here who were Christians who helped forge the beginning of our nation...known heroes and unsung ones who honored God.
I understand that there are the darker sides of most issues, but if we focus on only those darker sides, we can miss the light that were faithfully burning, trying to do the right thing for the right reasons.
Even those who are Christians make mistakes of omission, commission, and mistaken judgments. I didn't grow up knowing all of the right things. The best way to learn is to go to the Lord and ask Him to lead you to the truth. Another way to learn is to listen to wise counsel, but even with people, such as ministers, whom we inherently trust, we must use discernment and always weigh what we know to be true, or learn through our own research, and pray to know what is right.
I have made my own errors when meeting nice people, then later finding out that their doctrine was not consistent with my beliefs. It didn't make them any less nice, and perhaps not any less Christian, depending on the differences, but it did change how I evaluated their statements.
I always evaluate every sermon I watch against my knowledge of the Bible and my own beliefs. Some sermons can be amazing, yet there may be one or two points I disagree with. I feel that makes them interesting conversational topics with my husband. Of course, if the majority of the sermon is rife with things I do not believe, then I do not watch that pastor anymore. I think we all need to make these personal decisions prayerfully.
One thing we do is have our older children complete the Worldview Weekend course. While everyone has an agenda, they very competently teach you that it is important to evaluate everything that you do and believe through Bible-colored glasses, not world-shaded lenses.
As far as taxation goes, Jesus did say to "render unto Caesar..." As far as the Revolutionary War goes...well, I don't think it was only about the taxation, and it does seem to me that I remember they asked to have representation in regards to the taxes, but were denied it. That was part of the problem, too. There were other issues as well. I haven't researched it, but there are many resources out there that might answer your question. Try looking up Wallbuilders. I think they have a lot of stuff online that addresses this sort of topic.
I do believe we as Christians should do all we can to try to turn the focus of our communities towards churches helping people instead of the people having to rely on government for help in everything. We might wind up having a more Christian nation again if more neighbors reached out to help their communities instead of sending them to social services for help.
Our own church has partnered together with other local churches to provide a safe place to stay and shelter for homeless individuals. The next step would be to help them find a way to rise above their situation by offering work, training, clothing, and Godly counsel. Each of us has something they can contribute to the development of our communities and the spreading of God's word, so that we can once again become a strong nation based on Biblical values, whether it be money, clothing, time, or skills.
One movie I like that puts the idea of morality separate from Christianity in perspective is the Christian movie Time Changer. If you haven't seen it, and don't mind suspending reality (time travel), it is a great film to watch with your kids or husband or Sunday School group.
Anyway, I appreciate the comment and I hope I answered your questions adequately. I have quite a bad migraine and may have wandered because of it, so if I didn't make any sense, I am sorry!
I love Pa Mac. I hope someday he puts all of his videos on DVD as a home education curriculum. My kids love them and they are so wholesome. He seems like a sweet man.
God bless you.
Heather
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