PLUS

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

Engravings on the Rotunda and the Northwest Portico of the Jefferson Memorial include:

“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

“Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens…are a departure from the plan of the holy Author of our religion…No man shall be compelled to frequent or support religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.”

In Twenty-first Century America, there is a form of tyranny over the minds of men that would shock and appall the Founding Fathers. This newly established state religion denies freedom of thought. It influences the minds of men by burdens, punishments, and sufferings. It compels the population to worship at its altars without questioning its fundamental tenants.

The new religion uplifts self and denies moral restraint. This tyrannical force ostracizes those who would claim the preeminence of God-given truth. It swears allegiance to open-mindedness and moral relativism. This new religion insures that its precepts are ingrained into the common psyche through educational curriculum, public policy, and legal code. It reshapes history to remove the vestiges of the past. It is nothing less than tyranny over the mind of man, and those who oppose it must be strong in the Lord.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD BE STRONG IN THE LORD AS THEY STAND AGAINST THE NEWLY-ESTABLISHED STATE RELIGION. Opposition to tyranny takes a force far stronger than self-reliance. It takes humble prayerfulness.

Psalms 9:7-8 “But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.”

Colossians 3:25 “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”

The engraving on the Northeast Portico of the Jefferson Memorial includes the following:

“Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

While the context of the above is in relation to American slavery, it certainly applies more generally. With that in mind, Christians should tremble for our country. We should tremble for the future of a land that actively, even aggressively, invites God’s judgment. We should tremble with the thought that our children may grow up in a nation that has voluntarily removed itself from the protection of God.

God is just; His justice cannot sleep forever. PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD STAY HIS JUDGMENT WHILE TURNING OUR NATION BACK TO HIM. Indeed, we should tremble. That trembling should bring us to the one place we can make the most difference – to our knees.

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.”

Enshrined elsewhere in the Memorial, Jefferson wrote:

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

Indeed, can our rights remain secure as our nation forgets that our liberty, like our life itself, is a God-given gift? Thomas Jefferson, relying upon his Bible-based convictions, certainly didn’t think so. Instead, he saw that removing the conviction that liberties are gifts from God would cause them to slip away. Once we trust in another source for our rights and our liberties, then they would be fleeting.

The alternative to standing fast with Christ and His freely offered liberty and freedom is returning to entanglement with the yoke of bondage. This applies to the spiritual realm, and to the national realm as well. After all, the Lord is the source of all liberty and all freedom.

As a nation, we have a simple choice. We can stand fast in liberty and freedom by trusting in the Lord as their source, or we can risk the yoke of bondage by trusting in anything else.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD RECOGNIZE THE STARK ALTERNATIVE TO GOD-GIVEN LIBERTY. Once we remove our fundamental conviction about the source of liberty, we lose liberty itself.

NOTE: Please read this prior post for related thoughts: https://prayatlunch.us/never-entangled-again/

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.”

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

On occasion I venture away from my normal routine and spend time with the Lord praying for our nation at special locations. Recently, I did so at the Jefferson Memorial. Before my time of prayer, I marveled at several of the Jeffersonian quotes engraved in marble that make the Memorial so poignant. The next few PLUS posts will focus on these quotes and their spiritual and national applications for us today.

The first engraving to consider was from the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson and the Founding Fathers wrote:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men.”

This single sentence contains immeasurable Biblical truth and provides an unshakable reminder of the Christian faith of our founders. These truths include:

• God created man and created us equal
• Our rights are given by God and not by governments
• Our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are gifts from God
• Governments are instituted to secure the rights given by God

Wow! This sentence, enshrined in our founding document, leaves us with much to consider. Our national forgetfulness about these truths leaves us with much for which to pray. PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICA TO RETURN TO THE SELF-EVIDENT BIBLICAL TRUTHS THAT PROMPTED THE FORMATION OF OUR NATION. The only way our rights can be inalienable is if we recognize the One who gives them to us.

NOTE: Please read this prior post for related thoughts: https://prayatlunch.us/self-evident/

Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”

There are several other aspects of this verse and my experience at Capitol Connection 2015 (http://awakeamericaonline.org/main.html) that continue to resonate with me.

First, it is a reminder that our righteous leaders need our encouragement. As a leader in the Republican Party said during the conference: we can only be as strong on moral issues as Pastors will be from the pulpits on Sunday mornings. Based on his intent, this can be more broadly interpreted to mean the following:

• We need the support of Christians who will stand strong alongside of us
• We cannot make change alone without the righteous standing with us
• We cannot be the only ones who are bucking the trend of secularism

We must vote for them, pray for them, and speak out with them.

Second, it is a reminder that the political and legislative processes matter – they matter a lot:

• Elections matter – we rejoice or mourn based on the character of the ones who are in office.
• Candidates matter – we must foster an environment for the right candidates to emerge so that we have a righteous option come election time.
• Legislative sessions matter – democracy is far more than simply voting once every two years. It demands that we are involved and engaged throughout the year, encouraging those who stand for right and checking those who stand for wrong.
• Prayer matters – every part of the political process must be bathed in prayer, from the cultivation of candidates through the consideration of legislation.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD BE FULLY INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL AND LEGISLATIVE PROCESSES. If we are not, then we shouldn’t be surprised when what matters in this nation is controlled by those who would oppose us and the cause of Christ.

See this prior post for other thoughts on Proverbs 29:2:  https://prayatlunch.us/an-election-mandate/