Author: John Page 104 of 166

John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

On the night of March 4^th, 1776, the colonial army worked in a miraculous way. From the sunset of March 4^th to the sunrise of March 5^th, the revolutionaries seized and fortified the Dorchester Heights area to the south of Boston, hauling tons of supplies and heavy guns and digging mazes of trenches and fortifications through frozen ground without the notice of British forces. God blessed this endeavor with atypically mild weather that eased their burden, haze in the low lands that shielded their movements, and a full-moon-lit-night in the hills that guided their efforts.

It was a perfect movement to gain the strategic high ground and a moral victory on the one-year anniversary of the Boston Massacre. Of these efforts, General William Heath commented: “perhaps there never was so much work done in so short a space of time.” The Americans had worked quickly and diligently, brilliantly seizing the initiative and delivering a decisive impact.

It is time for Christian Americans to seize the initiative in our land. We must work quickly and diligently in order to seize the initiative from our adversaries. We must not continue to yield the initiative to others, but instead must act boldly and pray fervently to deliver a decisive impact.

PLEASE PRAY FERVANTLY AND ACT BOLDLY TO WRESTLE BACK THE INITIATIVE FOR CHRIST IN THIS LAND. We don’t have much time before our adversaries seal their victory, but much can be done in so short a space of time.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that based on the potential nominees, we may be morally unable to vote for a candidate from either party for president) set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

See this prior post for a previous thought on seizing the initiative: https://prayatlunch.us/initiative/

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

In the decision of Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States (see previous post), Justice Brewer laid out a lengthy body of historical evidence that demonstrated our national Christianity. He used charters, constitutions, oaths, and court records. He stated:

“There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning. They affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. There are not individual sayings, declarations of private persons. They are organic utterances. They speak the voice of the entire people.”

Justice Brewer then outlined the Christianity displayed by our laws, our businesses, our customs, and our society. He drew evidence from the efforts of our charities and the works of our missionaries, finally coming to the following conclusion:

“These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation. In the face of all these, shall it be believed that a Congress of the United States intended to make it a misdemeanor for a church of this country to contract for the services of a Christian minister residing in another nation?”

The organic utterances of this nation provided irrefutable proof that we were predominantly Christian at our core. How are our individual organic utterances today? Do we live in such a way that all men know that we are His disciples? We must, to live up to the standards established by Christ, to properly impact our spheres of influence for Him, and to wrestle our nation back to its origins under Him.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR TESTIMONIES WOULD PROVIDE IRREFUTABLE PROOF OF OUR DEDICATION TO THE LORD. May our individual organic utterances speak as loudly as the utterances of our predecessors.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that the Supreme Court will decide a landmark abortion case this year without Justice Scalia) set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

I Peter 2:12 “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

The case Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States was decided by the United States Supreme Court on Leap Day, 1892. This case centered around a law that prohibited foreigners from working in the United States due to a fear of foreign competition. As a byproduct of that law, foreign pastors and ministers were excluded from serving in the United States as well. Justice Brewer’s unanimous majority opinion definitively ruled that such a law did not apply to the ministry, in a large part because we were a Christian nation that would never prohibit foreign pastors from entering our country. Brewer wrote:

“But, beyond all these matters, no purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation.”

Justice Brewer went on to prove this truth by the words and the actions of our founders and from the entirety of our society. His argument was judicially sound because our nation had reached the legal threshold to prove such a claim.

Our nation may have drifted away from a legally sound body of evidence to prove our present-day Christianity, but individual Christians should never do so. Instead, we should live our Christian lives beyond a reasonable doubt. In fact, the hope of our nation is that God’s power can shine through His people in this land to return us to our irrefutable Biblical origins.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR GOOD WORKS WOULD GLORIFY GOD IN THIS LAND. We were once a Christian nation and can be once again. With a single voice, our honest conversation must make this affirmation.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that evangelicals are neither praying as they should nor voting as they should), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that an ungodly man is currently headed for the Republican nomination), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

I Timothy 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Shortly after his inauguration in 1789, President Washington stated the following:

“If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed by the Convention, where I had the honor to preside, might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society, certainly I would never have placed my signature to it”

George Washington would be undoubtedly ashamed at the attack on religious rights in 21^st century America. Derived rights from the Constitution have been elevated over explicit rights in the Constitution. The most basic and clearly stated American rights have been superseded by those rights stemming from contorted legal arguments. Washington would have not signed the Constitution had he had the slightest apprehension that such events would unfold.

Who is to blame? The answer is complicated and multifaceted. Yet, there is one population group that should shoulder its share of the responsibility because of their sins of omission – us! We have been directed to pray for kings and those in authority so that we can lead quiet and peaceable lives. As our rights have been trampled on, and our quiescence and peacefulness have been stripped from us, we must take stock of the neglect of our prayer lives.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICA’S LEADERS AS WE SHOULD HAVE ALL ALONG. Our rights are more than endangered; they are being actively threatened. Our quiet and peaceable lives are more than at risk; they are being upended. Preemption of these problems through prayer would have been much preferable, but reaction to these problems by prayer is our only remaining option.

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

General Washington wrote:

“While we are zealously performing the duties of good Citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of Religion. To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian.”

We are to be Patriots and Christians. In many ways, they are complimentary titles with the latter being more distinguished than the former. We must embrace both roles, insuring that our Lord is glorified by our activity in both arenas. We are to be inattentive to neither and zealous in both.

Our highest glory comes from a character that is Christian. We will have the most impact in our citizenship roles when we keep ourselves subject unto the higher powers. PLEASE PRAY FOR A CITIZENSHIP ROLE THAT IS COMPLIMENTARY TO OUR CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. We sometimes attend to the role of one or the other, while we should always be attentive to both.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that American society is changing the meaning of the Bible and the Constitution), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!