PLUS

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

Matthew 22:35 “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Noah Webster’s The Value of the Bible and Excellence of the Christian Religion: For the Use of Families and Schools provided a powerful set of practical and theological tools for his growing country in 1834. Two complementary passages help provide proper priority, orientation, and allegiance for Christians then and now:

“Men are prone to consider their social duties to their fellow men as the first in importance, and all that are necessary to be observed in order to secure God’s favor. This is a pernicious mistake, and probably the ruin of millions of the human race. Supreme love to God, and reverence for his character, and laws, is the first duty of men, and the true source of all other duties. Obedience to God’s laws, to be genuine, must spring from love to him; and a conformity to his character is that which constitutes excellence in human character.” (p. 32)

“The dignity of man, in the view of the world, consists in elevation of rank in society, superior intelligence, and high minded notions 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 of vices. There is another species of dignity which consists in the abhorrence of every vice, and in the aiming at the excellence which has a resemblance to the 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.” (p. 79-80)

Loving God as the utmost priority will yield a proper perspective to effectively and rightfully love others, while avoiding the trappings of pride and self-promotion.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO PRIORITIZE LOVING GOD AND ALIGNING OURSELVES WITH HIM ABOVE ALL ELSE. We must avoid the pernicious desire to please people … however fashionable it may be.

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

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Noah Webster is known as the ‘Father of American Scholarship and Education.’ He was an author, an abolitionist, 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)

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. He also recognized that civil liberty flowed from the applied truths of Christianity:

“Almost all the civil liberty now enjoyed in the world owes its origin to the principles of the Christian religion … 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.”

This nation was special 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. The Constitution was derived from this key truth – it was the work of a Divine Providence and was crafted by those who trusted in Him! It is a reason for which we are to be profoundly thankful!

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD HUMBLY AND PASSIONATELY EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO OUR LOVING GOD. It is the least we owe Him for our free constitutions of government as we rely wholly on Him for success.

ADMIN: The two quotes come from the following:

Value of the Bible and Excellence of the Christian Religion: For the Use of Families and Schools, Noah Webster, 1834, p. 79, 89-90.

Daniel 9:18 “O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name:  for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.”

Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.”

Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”

Speaking to President Lincoln about the Civil War, a Christian minister mentioned that he “hoped the Lord was on our side.” Lincoln wisely responded: “I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But God is my witness that it is my constant anxiety and prayer, that both myself and this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”

This nation will not prevail over the challenges of the day because the Lord is on our side. Instead, we will only prevail if we are on His side. Christian Americans will not prevail over ungodly forces because the Lord is on our side. Instead, we will only prevail if we are on His side. Conservative Christians will not prevail against cultural progressives because the Lord is on our side. Instead, we will only prevail if we are on His side.

We must spend far less time assuming that God is on our side, and far more time ensuring that we are on His side. We must not presume that God will side with us, and instead strive to perfectly side with Him. We must not assume His alignment, but instead assure our alignment. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO STRIVE FOR CONSTANT ALIGNMENT WITH OUR PERFECT GOD! He is always on the side of right, and it should be our constant prayer that we are always on the Lord’s side.

ADMIN: I have written about this story previously in PLUS, using a slightly different set of quotes. After some extensive research for my upcoming book, I wanted to use the verified version (the meaning is the same as the previous posts). Thanks to Wallbuilders for helping me get this one right! For your knowledge, the citation is:

Illustrated Life, Services, Martyrdom, and Funeral of Abraham Lincoln, “Bishop Simpson’s Funeral Oration,” Delivered May 4, 1865, p. 252.

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.”

I Corinthians 4:7 “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

Psalm 139:13-14 “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

I Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me.”

Our hearts are quick to trust in ourselves, but our actual self-sufficiency is not up to the task as God reminds us in II Corinthians 3:5. It is clear and powerful to consider that all our raw material comes from Him (I Corinthians 4:7). God plainly reminds us that our skills, our smarts, and our strengths are gifts from Him.

As a young Christian, I fully understood that God had given me the raw material of my life. After all, He had formed me from my mother’s womb. Yet, I errantly retained a bit of credit for my situation in life. After all, while God had given me much, I had worked hard and wisely to develop it. As a result, God deserved some of the credit, but so did I. It was around that point in my spiritual journey that God confronted me with the following from the Apostle Paul that is well worth restating from above:

“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me.” (I Corinthians 15:9-10)

Wow! Paul shares with us that his motivation to work hard was a God-given-gift.

That means that while God deserves full credit for our raw material, He also deserves full credit for the ability to develop that raw material. Our relationships, our circumstances, our opportunities, and even our motivations are from Him. All our sufficiency is from Him and this truth must be engraved in our hearts.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD FULLY UNDERSTAND OUR COMPLETE RELIANCE AND DEPENDENCY ON GOD. Whenever we accomplish something, remember the important truth – it was yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me!

ADMIN: I won’t be publishing a PLUS blog next weekend, but please keep praying faithfully for widespread revival in the United States of America while trusting in God completely for our sufficiency!

Joshua 5:6 “For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give, a land that floweth with milk and honey.”

Ecclesiastes 1:9 “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

The challenges we face today are no different than those experienced throughout human history. As a result, our pitfalls follow a repeating pattern. And their resolution starts with an understanding that there is an enemy that is poised to pounce.

Our complacency and our fear, though, should prompt us to walk a narrow path of faithfulness between spiritual recklessness and paralysis. Meanwhile, our trusting vigilance provides an important steadying force: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8) And as we trust in God, we arm ourselves to avoid defeat: “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.” (Psalm 25:1-2)

The Israelites provide a powerful reminder for us today. After escaping from Egypt, and seeing God part the Red Sea, they stood on the precipice of the Promised Land. God had already delivered them from the world’s superpower. Before they crossed the threshold of success, they sent spies to scout out the situation. All came back acknowledging the grandeur of the land. Yet, ten of the twelve were transfixed on the challenges that awaited them. Instead of trust, they sowed seeds of doubt in their human ability to overcome the daunting task that awaited them.

Caleb and Joshua spoke up but were overwhelmed by the masses. In fact, the population’s fear was so extreme that they conspired to murder God’s trusting servants. Furthermore, the population started to create plans to return to Egypt and accept a future of renewed servitude.

The Israelites eventually made their way into the Promised Land. But instead of enjoying a direct trip from Egypt to a land that flowed with milk and honey, they wandered in the wilderness for four decades. When they did finally cross the River Jordan, they must have reflected on the fact that their lack of trust caused them to eventually get to where God intended for them to go, but with a delay of hardship and heartache.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO TRUST GOD AND OVERCOME THE TRIUMPH OF OUR ENEMIES. May we never stand on the precipice of the Promised Land and be overwhelmed by our concerns about giants.