Author: John Page 130 of 166

Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

A few weeks removed from the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke the following as his 1941 Christmas Eve message:

“Fellow workers for freedom:
There are many men and women in America – sincere and faithful men and women – who are asking themselves this Christmas:
How can we light our trees? How can we give our gifts?
How can we meet and worship with love and with uplifted spirit and heart in a world at war, a world of fighting and suffering and death?
How can we pause, even for a day, even for Christmas Day, in our urgent labor of arming a decent humanity against the enemies which beset it?
How can we put the world aside, as men and women put the world aside in peaceful years, to rejoice in the birth of Christ?
These are natural—inevitable—questions in every part of the world which is resisting the evil thing.
And even as we ask these questions, we know the answer. There is another preparation demanded of this Nation beyond and beside the preparation of weapons and materials of war. There is demanded also of us the preparation of our hearts; the arming of our hearts. And when we make ready our hearts for the labor and the suffering and the ultimate victory which lie ahead, then we observe Christmas Day – with all of its memories and all of its meanings – as we should.
Looking into the days to come, I have set aside a day of prayer, and in that Proclamation I have said:
‘The year 1941 has brought upon our Nation a war of aggression by powers dominated by arrogant rulers whose selfish purpose is to destroy free institutions. They would thereby take from the freedom-loving peoples of the earth the hard-won liberties gained over many centuries.
The new year of 1942 calls for the courage and the resolution of old and young to help to win a world struggle in order that we may preserve all we hold dear.
We are confident in our devotion to country, in our love of freedom, in our inheritance of courage. But our strength, as the strength of all men everywhere, is of greater avail as God upholds us.
Therefore, I… do hereby appoint the first day of the year 1942 as a day of prayer, of asking forgiveness for our shortcomings of the past, of consecration to the tasks of the present, of asking God’s help in days to come.
We need His guidance that this people may be humble in spirit but strong in the conviction of the right; steadfast to endure sacrifice, and brave to achieve a victory of liberty and peace.’
Our strongest weapon in this war is that conviction of the dignity and brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies-more than any other day or any other symbol.
Against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practice them, we set our faith in human love and in God’s care for us and all men everywhere.
It is in that spirit, and with particular thoughtfulness of those, our sons and brothers, who serve in our armed forces on land and sea, near and far – those who serve for us and endure for us that we light our Christmas candles now across the continent from one coast to the other on this Christmas Eve.
We have joined with many other Nations and peoples in a very great cause. Millions of them have been engaged in the task of defending good with their life-blood for months and for years.
One of their great leaders stands beside me. He and his people in many parts of the world are having their Christmas trees with their little children around them, just as we do here. He and his people have pointed the way in courage and in sacrifice for the sake of little children everywhere.
And so I am asking my associate, my old and good friend, to say a word to the people of America, old and young, tonight Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain.”

Though these words were spoken by a man known more for expanding government than for expounding upon his faith, they are notable for their historical significance and their subtle spiritual truth. President Roosevelt’s message was ripe with humble resolution, a characteristic consistent with the birth and the life of Christ. Prompted in Roosevelt’s case by the tumultuous world events that precipitated America’s involvement in World War II, this short and rambling statement says as much about the need for preparation within as it does about the need for preparation without with respect to the challenging task at hand.

In order for Christians to meet the inevitable challenges of our tumultuous world, characterized by the relentless attack of the enemies of Christ, we must prepare and arm our hearts. We must do so fully reliant upon for the Lord, because “we need His guidance that this people may be humble in spirit but strong in the conviction of the right; steadfast to endure sacrifice, and brave to achieve a victory of liberty and peace.” Through it all, our testimonies will be “of greater avail as God upholds us.”

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRIST-LIKE, HUMBLE RESOLUTION TO PREPARE OURSELVES TO RESPOND TO A TUMULTUOUS WORLD. We must do so to preserve all we hold dear.

Judges 2:20-22 “And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.”

Speaking about faithfulness, Noah Webster wrote the following:

“The history of the Israelites is full of instruction. God chose that nation to be the depositaries of his laws; delivered them from bondage in Egypt; performed many miracles for their preservation and protection; sent one prophet after another to warn the nation against forsaking God; gave them able and wise kings to conquer the land of Canaan and established the state; but many of the kings apostatized to idolatry; the people became corrupt; and at last, God executed judgment upon the nation by the captivity of the king and most of the people, and putting an end to the state. Such or similar has been the fate of all corrupt nations; and such will be our fate, if we neglect the worship and service of God. God’s moral government requires that men and nations, renouncing his authority, should meet with exemplary punishment.”

The history of God’s people is full of instruction. They prospered when they were faithful because the Lord was with them. Yet, when they became corrupt and fell into idolatry their nation faltered and failed. As Webster stated, “such or similar has been the fate of all corrupt nations.” He feared that such would be our fate if we ever drifted from the Lord’s preeminence in our land.

Our nation must return to an understanding of God’s preeminence; we must do so as individuals as well.   We must desire His miracles for our preservation and protection as we have enjoyed in the past. PLEASE PRAY THAT THIS NATION WOULD LEARN FROM THE INSTRUCTION OF GOD’S WORD AND THE HISTORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE. The lessons can make the difference between preservation and protection or exemplary punishment.

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.”

Speaking about liberty, Noah Webster wrote the following:

“Almost all the civil liberty now enjoyed in the world owes its origin to the principles of the Christian religion. Men began to understand their natural rights, as soon as the reformation from popery began to dawn in the sixteenth century; and civil liberty has been gradually advancing and improving, as genuine Christianity has prevailed. By the principles of the Christian religion we are not to understand the decisions of ecclesiastical councils, for these are the opinions of mere men; nor are we to suppose that religion to be any particular church established by law, with numerous dignitaries, living in stately palaces, arrayed in gorgeous attire, and rioting in luxury and wealth, squeezed from the scanty earnings of the laboring poor; nor is it a religion which consists in a round of forms, and in pompous rites and ceremonies. No; the religion which has introduced civil liberty, is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government”

As the founders were creating this nation, they recognized the importance of liberty. In fact, the reason they recognized liberty itself was because they had experienced liberty through Christ. They desired a form a government that would prevent the entanglement of bondage that comes from the strict hierarchy of monarchy and the strong hand of governmental power. They had seen such entanglement before, through the rigid structures of the church and through the rigid structures of the state. They never wanted to be entangled again.

We owe our free constitutions of government to the first-hand reaction of the founders to what they had experienced of liberty and bondage. They wanted all of the former and none of the latter. They created our government around the liberty of Christ, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence and that bestows equal rights to every citizen.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS AND AMERICAN LEADERS WOULD CLING TO THE LIBERTY PROVIDED ONLY BY CHRIST. That liberty extends beyond the temporal to the eternal, and our founders acknowledged such liberty as the originating principle of our nation.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

In 1834, Noah Webster penned the following:

“The dignity of man, in the view of the world, consists in elevation of rank in society, superior intelligence, and high minded notion of honor. These are qualities which make men respected in society, and are of real value to the possessor. But these qualities may be and often are united, in the same character, with the foulest vices. There is another species of dignity which consists in the abhorrence of every vice, and in aiming at the excellence which has a resemblance to divine perfections. God is the only perfect being, the only model of all excellence; and no man can be possessed of true dignity of character, without purity of heart, and a divine principle which elevates the affections above the love of that which God abhors and forbids. Whatever God forbids is degrading, however fashionable it may be, and however esteemed among men. It is our first duty to seek the honor that comes from God.”

We are to cling to the principles esteemed by God regardless of whether they are esteemed by man. Being faithful does not mean that we will be fashionable.

Webster provides the important warning that the same characteristics elevated by the world may be linked to the foulest vices. Thus, in order to avoid such a character trap it is necessary to seek God first. As the only model of all excellence, the Lord and His characteristics should be first and foremost in our minds. With a goal of continually striving towards divine perfections, the right characteristics will be added unto us.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A GOD-FIRST MINDSET IN THE LIVES OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING YOURSELF. However fashionable the things of the world may be, true dignity of character only comes by placing the Lord first.

James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Noah Webster is known as the ‘Father of American Scholarship and Education.’ He was an author, an abolitionist, a lexicographer, and an outspoken supporter of the Constitution. Later in his life, this Founding Father wrote two must-read books for children and adults alike:

• The Value of the Bible and Excellence of the Christian Religion for the Use of Families and Schools (1834)
• History of the United States (1833)

The next four PLUS posts will use thoughts from these great works.

Webster wrote the following:

“The great difference between the maxims of the world and the doctrines of the gospel, is, that human opinions spring from pride, and tend to foster it; whereas the doctrines of the gospel teach humility, and self-abasement. The maxims of the world serve to encourage self-dependence in men, inducing them to rely on their own strength and resources for success, in business or policy, without seeking aid from the Almighty source of power. The gospel inculcates the opposite doctrine; it teaches that ‘God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.’ It serves to make men humble, and to rely wholly on God for success, not only in spiritual concerns, but in the ordinary occupations of this world. In the pagan world, bravery and human efforts are everything; and God is nothing. In the Christian system, human strength is nothing, and God is every thing. In a Christian community then, all government should be founded on Christian principles or should be directed to support them; and to such a system God will give success. All governments of a different kind will produce, as they have ever produced, innumerable evils while they last, and will ultimately sink into corruption and be ruined. All history is a tissue of facts confirming these observations.”

This Founding Father recognized the need to embrace humility and to shun pride. He recognized that this applies to the personal level and to the governmental level. He recognized that the former would bring grace and the latter would bring resistance.

This nation is great because it didn’t spring from the maxims of this world, but instead from the doctrines of the gospel. The Founders recognized that human strength is nothing and that God is everything. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERCIA WOULD ONCE AGAIN TURN TO GOD AS OUR EVERYTHING. By doing so, may we avoid the innumerable evils and inevitable ruin that come from the world’s maxims.