Author: John Page 3 of 162

Psalm 56:11 “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”

Psalm 115:9-11 “O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.”

Psalm 25:1-2 “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.”

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt prompted a bit of controversy when he ordered new coinage to no longer contain the national motto – In God We Trust. It had been since 1865 that federal law required emblazoning that motto on every piece of our currency, signed by President Abraham Lincoln as his last approved bill before his assassination.

Yet, it wasn’t because of a desire to erase history, omit God, or purge the name of the Lord from American culture that Roosevelt did so. In many ways, it was just the opposite. President Roosevelt explained:

“My own feeling in the matter is due to my very firm conviction that to put such a motto on coins, or to use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good, but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sacrilege. …  Any use which tends to cheapen it, and, above all, any use which tends to secure its being treated in a spirit of levity, is from every standpoint profoundly to be regretted. … it seems to me eminently unwise to cheapen such a motto by use on coins …  In all my life I have never heard any human being speak reverently of this motto on the coins or show any signs of its having appealed to any high emotion in him, but I have literally, hundreds of times, heard it used as an occasion of and incitement to … sneering”

President Roosevelt wanted the name of the Lord and reference to our motto to be solemn, serious, and sacred. He didn’t want such a slogan to become sacrilege.

There are many elements of our Christian lives that believers sometimes take for granted. We may become a bit too flippant in our references to the Lord, in our demonstrations of our faith, and in our expressions of our testimonies. In doing so, we may be falling into the trap that concerned Roosevelt by allowing our motto to became meaningless and our slogan to become a sneer. May it never be so.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO MAINTAIN A SPIRIT OF APPROPRIATE REVERENCE IN THE DAILY EXPRESSIONS OF OUR FAITHFULNESS. May we truly demonstrate, through our every word and action, that we genuinely and fully mean it when we say In God We Trust. May we never cheapen it.

Acts 2:22-24 “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”

Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, nether be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Today is the annual date on the calendar bracketed by commemoration of the two anniversaries of monumental spiritual and practical significance – the crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. The nature of this come-from-behind victory, planned by God from the beginning of creation, is breathtaking and almost impossible to begin to fathom. Yet it happened as the Lord foretold and preordained.

A powerful song that tells of this turnaround is “I Will Arise” – a song that I think about every year on Resurrection Sunday. The following stanza captures the concepts so poignantly:

God is the master of the turn-around, transforming brutal death into glorious life. As we consider that important truth, we must remember that He can do such miracles in our lives as well. In fact, salvation is a depiction of such a come-from-behind victory that should never get old and must never go out of style.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERCIAN CHRISTIANS WOULD JOYOUSLY AND WONDROUSLY CELEBRATE THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST AND GOD’S TRANSFORMATIVE POWER IN OUR LIVES.

I Kings 3:9-10 “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”

I Kings 3:11-13 “And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also give thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.”

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away on April 12^th, 1945 in the midst of his fourth term and at the climaxing part of World War II. Three days later he was buried, and the day after that, newly sworn-in President Harry S. Truman stood in front of a joint session of Congress.

Throughout his speech, President Truman called for the need and the necessity of Divine guidance. He closed the speech with these thoughts:

“At this moment, I have in my heart a prayer. As I have assumed my heavy duties, I humbly pray Almighty God, in the words of King Solomon: ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my people.”

It was said of this speech: “Truman had but a fraction of FDR’s gift for oratory, but his voice was steady and firm. For twelve years the president who addressed the world from this pulpit spoke in the intonations of the moneyed East Coast establishment. This voice was different. It was the voice of a common man, asking God for guidance, and the response was the loudest affirmation Truman’s ears had ever encountered.”

Experts have said that “the first four months of his administration should rank as the most challenging and action-packed of any four-month period in any American presidency.” Truman certainly needed the understanding heart that topped the King Solomon’s prayer list.

So do we, and so do our leaders today!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO PRAY FERVENTLY FOR AN UNDERSTANDING HEART TO DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD. King Solomon implored God for such wisdom, and it pleased the Lord that he did so. Such prayers, for ourselves and for our leaders, are needed and necessary. Putting this request at the top of our prayer lists would please the Lord today.

ADMIN: The quoted thoughts above come from A. J. Baime’s “The Accidental President.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Hebrews 11:32-35a “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again:”

Hebrews 11:35b-38 “and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

The Hall of Fame of Faith is a compelling section of scripture. From the beginning of the chapter, it is clear that God’s priority is the faithfulness of His people. By faith, God is able to bring about His perfect plan.

Importantly, though, it becomes clear at the breakpoint of verse 35 that faithfulness doesn’t necessarily result in temporal success. Sometimes faith allows believers to subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, be made strong, wax valiant in fight, turn to flight the armies of the aliens, and receive dead raised to life again. Yet, in other cases faith results in torture, mocking, scourging, imprisonment, stoning, dismemberment, temptation, murder, poverty, affliction, torment, and disorientation.

God focuses on our faithfulness. That is what is in our control.

The results are fully left up to Him and they are completely His business.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FULLY FOCUS ON FAITH, THROUGH TRUST LEAVING THE RESULTS UP TO OUR ALL-KNOWING GOD. The Lord is focused on faith, without which it is impossible to please Him.

Genesis 50:18-21 “And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”

Genesis 45:4-8 “And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye solid into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharoah, and the lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Romans 8:28 “And ye know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to purpose.”

In today’s bombastic society, when we are wronged we are spring loaded to double down and fight back. Even Christians do so, ditching our discipline, tarnishing our testimonies, and forgetting our faith. In our passion for immediate justice, our perspectives are clouded and our characters are muddied. Joseph gives us a grace-filled model that exemplifies wisdom and exudes grace.

Joseph knew that God either allowed for his betrayal and used it for the greater good, or that God had actually orchestrated the entire act of treachery by his brothers to save them and many others.

While I frankly find it difficult to fathom his measured response, I am astounded by it and convicted by it. It provides a template for Christians today and throughout time.

No matter what happens to us, God is in control. Even when we are betrayed, He can use it for the greater good. In fact, He may have orchestrated it all along to save those around us and many others.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO RESPOND TO BETRAYAL AND TREACHERY WITH GRACE, WISDOM, DISCIPLINE AND FAITH. May we all respond right as God works all things together for good.