Month: July 2013

Hebrews 11:2 “For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report.”

In the days leading up to July 4^th, 1776, morale was waning among the colonists.  Supplies were in short supply, financing was scarce, and victories were rare.  It was in this context that General Washington recognized the need for encouragement.  As a prelude to the reading of the Declaration to his assembled troops, the following was offered:

“The General hopes this important Event will serve as fresh incentive to every officer and soldier to act with Fidelity and Courage, as knowing that now the peace and safety of his country depends, under God, solely on the success of our arms:  And that he is now in the service of a State possessed of sufficient power to reward his merit, and advance him to the highest honors of a free country.”

Indeed, the public proclamation had its intended effect.  As the members of the Continental Army considered the courageous act of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, it steeled their resolve.

In this way, faithfulness is much like courage.  The faithfulness of the men and women described in Hebrews 11 should steel our resolve.  Furthermore, if we are faithful, then our faithfulness will steel the resolve of others.  It only takes a few to encourage the many.  PLEASE PRAY THAT YOUR FAITHFULNESS WOULD ENCOURAGE THE FAITHFULNESS OF OTHER CHRISTIAN AMERICANS.  After all, it only took 56 men to encourage the fidelity and courage of an entire army.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

In the days following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the news spread like wildfire throughout the colonies.  Though the colonists risked much in dissolving their connection with a world power, they did so proudly and publically.  The Continental Congress ordered that copies of the Declaration, produced by a local Philadelphia printer on July 4, 1776, be sent on horseback throughout the newly independent United States.  It was printed in local newspapers and read publically in town squares.  The new nation was abuzz with the news, though they knew that a dark cloud of war was hanging on the horizon.  They were not ashamed of their life-changing decision.

Oh that today’s American Christians would show as much pride in our eternity-changing decisions for Christ.  Instead, we often guard the truths of our testimonies as if we are ashamed of Christ.  Other groups, feeling no such bashfulness in their causes, seize control of the public dialogue and drown out those few who are brave enough to stand for Biblical truths.  Though the personal risks that would accompany our public proclamations of faith are minute compared to those faced by the colonists in 1776, we cower in the closets of our unjustified shame.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERCIAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PROUDLY AND PUBLICALLY PROCLAIM CHRIST AND WOULD STAND FOR HIS TRUTHS.  After all, it is the gospel of Christ that caries with it the power of God.

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

The Declaration of Independence boldly proclaims: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Through these words, the Founding Fathers demonstrated a firm understanding that the Lord was the sole source of equality and liberty.

Our equal creation by the Lord is the basis of our equality.  As creatures formed in the Lord’s image, there is no natural difference in status between us in the Lord’s eyes.  The source of our liberty is also the same for all people.  True freedom is not given by a proclamation or a president; it is not given by a government or governor; it is not given by a kingdom or a king; it is not given by a manifest or a monarch.  It is given, instead, by Christ himself.  And the rights He gives us are unalienable.

The more we rely on the government to be the source of our equality and our liberty, the more we remove ourselves from the true foundation that provides us these important national characteristics.  In fact, trusting in a government apart from God places us in a precarious national position that ignores the basic truths upon which equality and liberty are actually secured.  This includes rights manufactured by man that are not from God.  Relying on a false foundation produces a fragile freedom.

Failure to rely on our ultimate authority fosters a reality of untimely authoritarianism.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD RETURN TO THE INTENDED BIBLICAL BASIS FOR OUR EQUALITY AND LIBERTY.  It is self evident that drifting away from this Biblical basis places both at risk, as we recklessly drift towards a yoke of bondage.