Monday, July 4, 2011

One Nation, Under God

"9 But you are (A)A CHOSEN RACE, A royal (B)PRIESTHOOD, A (C)HOLY NATION, (D)A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you (E)out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 (F)for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY." 1 Peter 2:9-10 NASV

Last night I was watching the fireworks at the fairgrounds. Our oldest son was in the color guard with his boyscout troop. We said "The Pledge of Allegiance" and a young gal sang, God Bless America, and then with all the brilliance of fireworks and the patriotic songs playing in the background, I was struck with the thought that we are so blessed and felt lead to praise my God for the gift of our country. Then, when I got home, I was feeding our dogs and looked up at the night sky, and boy, the stars were out! My spirit spoke to me. The man made fireworks were beautiful, but even in all it's brilliance, it could not even begin to compare to the infinite beauty that the Lord's night sky held every night. And I felt Him wash over me. I praise Him!

Today is our nation's birthday and I think we should celebrate. Celebrate that God created this great land for all of us. Rich, poor, middle class; man, woman, child; white, black, yellow, brown, olive, red; old, young, middle aged or newborns--it truly doesn't matter--at least to God. He created this land for All of us. For us to live in a free world that we can serve Him and worship Him anyway we choose. Think of all the beauty and opportunities we have over other nations! The grand parks, the beauty of the seasons, the animal life; the grand bodies of water; the sunrises and the sunsets--the blessings are too numerous to list--but do you get the picture?

Sometimes if all you remember is what you hear on the television or on the radio, or read in the papers or magazines--you could be very depressed. And yes, there are many things that are not right with the world--but is that God's fault? No. Don't we have the gift of freewill? Yup, we do. Have we used it wisely? No, not always.

We can't fix the world all at once. But you know what? If each of us took a part and opened our Bibles, read and prayed for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our town, our county, our state, our nation and then our world--we could. It starts with us. We need to take back our role as Christians.

Our founding fathers fought for this land so that they could worship their God, not the King of England. They created the laws of the land on the Holy Bible. So, as they use to say, "we do have good bones" or in other words, our foundation was built on solid ground. We, as a nation, have gotten lazy and surly.

So, what do you say? Let's say the Pledge of Allegiance today, but let's say it as a prayer, and not a song. And let's pray as we say the verses so that they become real to to us.

I pledge allegiance
To the flag
Of the United States of America,
And to the republic,
For which it stands,
One nation,
Under God,
Indivisible,
With liberty
And justice for all.


Thank you Jesus for the gift of my country. Amen

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