PLUS

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

The last line of the Declaration of Independence humbles me every time I read it:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

These great men of our founding recognized that they were not sufficient to the task of forming a new nation.  Their strength was not sufficient.  Their wisdom was not sufficient.  Their courage was not sufficient.  Their military might was not sufficient.  Their economic resources were not sufficient.  Their leadership abilities were not sufficient.  As a result, they did not think any thing as of themselves.

Instead, they trusted in God and firmly relied upon Him.   They rested in His protection for their support.  They recognized one important truth that often times alludes a culture that breeds and promotes self-sufficiency.  They recognized that their sufficiency was of God.

Similarly today, our sufficiency is of God whether we realize it or not.  The sooner we give up on self-sufficiency, the sooner we can rely on the One who is far more able than we are.  Saviour-sufficiency trumps self-sufficiency in every situation.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO TRUST IN THE SAVIOUR INSTEAD OF OURSELVES.  He is sufficient, not us!

SET YOUR ALARM:  If you’re alarmed (at the extreme divisiveness in our nation that even puts public defenders at risk), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

For related thoughts on the last line of our Declaration, please see:
https://prayatlunch.us/carrying-a-weighty-responsibility/
https://prayatlunch.us/casting-all-your-care/
https://prayatlunch.us/firm-reliance/

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?”

This nation is remarkable and exceptional.  Regardless of what some detractors may say about this City on a Hill, it has been a beacon of light in a world often characterized by darkness.  Yet, I Corinthians 4:7 offers us two important intertwined warnings about nationalism and pride:

• What we have, we have received. The gift of liberty and prosperity in the form of the United States of America has been given to us by God and by a long line of faithful citizens.  Some provided a vision; some provided a sacrifice; some provided innovation; some provided generosity; some provided community; some provided charity; some provided leadership; some provided service.  Yet, all built upon a foundation and within a context only possible through the blessings of God.  As our founders properly demonstrated, may we never forget that what we have, we have received.

• Because we have received what we have, we should be humble and not prideful. Our glory should be directed to God through humble thanksgiving.  It is He that made us to differ from another.  It is through His gifts that this land was made possible and made prosperous.  The moment we take credit for this great land is the moment that we rob God of His rightful glory.

I am filled with pride in this great land, but such pride needs to be properly funneled towards the One who deserves the real credit.  PLEASE PRAY THAT NATIONALISTIC AMERICAN PRIDE WOULD ONLY BE DIRECTED TOWARDS GOD HIMSELF.  After all, He is our real Founding Father!

Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

San Diego, California has one of the world’s most spectacular 4^th of July Fireworks Shows.  Fireworks are launched from four locations, entertaining a crowd of over a half a million expectant fans for nearly 20 minutes … usually.  On July 4^th, 2012 things didn’t go as expected.  Due to a computer malfunction, all the fireworks from all the locations went off simultaneously.  In less than 30 spectacular seconds, the show was over.  It didn’t last as expected.

Our founders designed this nation to last.  They walked in Him.  They rooted this nation in Him and built it up in Him.  They stablished it in faith.  Even in our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, the fingerprints of our God and their faith are evident and abundant:

• We are entitled to our rights by Nature and Nature’s God – “to which the Laws of nature and Nature’s God entitle [us]” – Romans 13:1
• We are created and created equal – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”– Genesis 1:27
• We all share the same source of liberty – we are “endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights” – Galatians 5:1
• Governments are to be designed to secure our God-given rights – “that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men” – II Corinthians 3:17
• God is the Supreme Judge – “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions” – II Samuel 2:10
• God is powerful and trustworthy – “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence” – I Peter 5:6-7

This nation has lasted because of its roots, though in recent decades we have been furiously digging them up.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD RETURN TO ITS ROOTS.  If we are to last as designed, then we must be rooted and built up in Him.

SET YOUR ALARM:  If you’re alarmed (by a Supreme Court that continues to advance a liberal agenda and support federal overreach), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

Isaiah 40:22-23 “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:  That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.”

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.”

Acts 5:27-29 “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council:  and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?  and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than man.”

America’s Founders recognized that religious beliefs, notably Christianity, were a check on the sovereignty of government.  In this land, God was to remain sovereign.  Our government was to be subject to Him and to the will of the people.  As a result, America’s Founders clearly articulated the limits of government in the Bill of Rights and placed religious liberty as our “first freedom.”

Progressive forces are attempting to wrestle us into the arms of a sovereign government and away from a sovereign God.  They want us to trust and rely on them rather than on Him.  They want us to be subject unto the higher power of government while denying the higher power of God.  They want us to obey man rather than God.  They don’t recognize that all powers are ordained of God.  They fail to realize that God can bring our princes to nothing and make the judges of the earth as vanity.

The erosion of religious liberty in America stems from the same source as the denial of religious liberty in China (see previous post).  Recent progressive actions in America “reflect the government’s longstanding fear that Christianity could undermine [its] authority.”  That is exactly the Founder’s point in establishing our “first freedom.”  American governmental authority was designed to be undermined by God, lest it grow sovereign in place of Him.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIAN AMERICANS TO BOLDLY AND RESOLUTELY RETAIN GOD AS OUR SOVEREIGN KING.  By obeying God rather than man and uplifting Him as sovereign, we are actually being the types of citizens that our Founders intended us to be.

SET YOUR ALARM:  If you’re alarmed (at California’s attempt to destroy religious liberty in all faith-based colleges via SB1146), set your alarm (to pray for California)!

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:  but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

In mid-April, an American missionary couple in Beijing, China (names intentionally omitted) had their church raided in the middle of a Sunday service by local authorities and the service was broken up.  These same authorities ruled that all church services there were to be permanently cancelled.  A few weeks later, these same authorities dictated that the couple’s visas would not be renewed and they were to leave the country by mid-June.  Sure enough, a few weeks ago this couple who had been faithfully serving on the Chinese mission field since 2001 sadly left the land to which they had been called.

Stricter regulation of spiritual life is becoming the norm in all of China, not just in Beijing.  The root of these control measures is the government’s desire to retain its sovereignty over the affairs of its citizens. As the New York Times article ‘Decapitated Churches in China’s Christian Heartland’ suggests, these actions “reflect the government’s longstanding fear that Christianity could undermine the party’s authority.”  The Party wants the Chinese people to trust in them and them alone.  Yet we know that there is one thing that should be trusted above all else – not military might, economic influence, or political control.  Christians everywhere must remember the name of the LORD our God.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS WORLDWIDE TO TRUST IN GOD ALONE AS SOVEREIGN.  Controlling governments across the globe have a longstanding fear that we would do so.

See this link to read the entire New York Times Article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/world/asia/china-christians-zhejiang.html?_r=0

SET YOUR ALARM:  If you’re alarmed (that progressive regimes throughout the world see God as a threat to their authority), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!