America At A Crossroads
We love America. We love the brave men and women who have, and continue to, lay their lives on the line to protect the freedoms and rights we are blessed with. From the early development of this country, belief in and fear of Almighty God was at our very foundation.
What helped our forefathers create a great nation and form of government was their principles and ethical sense of right and wrong. They were not perfect individuals but were at the forefront of their time in bringing about a better form of government than had existed prior to their time, drawn in part from their study and understanding of the Holy Bible.
Notice just a few of the facts from our history:
» 52 of 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence considered themselves to be deeply committed to God and the teachings of the Bible.
» Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence congress imported 20,000 Bibles.
» In 1782 the U.S. congress passed a resolution approving the Holy Bible for use in all schools.
» Mr. McGuffey, author of the McGuffey Readers, called Christianity the “religion of our country.”
» James Madison, the primary author the constitution of the US encouraged people to govern themselves “according to the moral principles of the ten commandments.”
» Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly God focused, including such institutions as Harvard University.
The Founders of all of the 50 state constitutions acknowledged God in their state constitutions. As an example, look at the Illinois preamble:
We the people of the state of Illinois-grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He has permitted us to enjoy and seeking his blessings upon our endeavors...do ordain and establish this constitution for the state of Illinois.
It is not difficult to measure the moral decline in this country when you compare present day attitudes toward God and Christianity against the feelings of our forefathers. Today, we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of humanistic philosophies as well as the continued ridiculous teaching, of the myth, of macro evolution as fact in our schools. The desire to be "politically correct" flies in the face of the attitude of those who fought and died for the right of our citizens to proclaim the existence of and worship the majesty of Jehovah God.
God expects his people to be respectful of the leaders of their country and to set themselves apart from the world. Consider the following verses:
Rom 13:1-2 - Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
1 Tim 2:1-2 - Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
God expects the same respect!!!
Psalms 33:12 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.
Proverbs 14:34 - Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Those who reject God and fail to give Him proper reverence need only look at history to see the results.
The following is an excellent column by Brad Harrub from the July 2007 issue of THINK magazine that perfectly describes how far our great country has declined.
“No country upon earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings than United America. Wondrously strange, then, and much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to neglect the means and to depart from the road which Providence has pointed us to so plainly; I cannot believe it will ever come to pass.” – George Washington, written in a letter to Benjamin Lincoln
George Washington believed America was blessed by Providence. He believed that.
America’s beginnings were blessed and her people would always be resolute to see to it that as a country, she never drifted from her moorings. But is that the case today?
If the Founding Fathers were to travel through time and arrive in the 21st century, would they say we had “neglected the means and departed from the road [on which] Providence pointed us?”
Does America have troubles? One would be foolish to try to dismiss them. But undoubtedly, America is still a great nation with plenty of potential for good days ahead. It is a nation of people who by and large still believe in God (90+ percent), and as a result have strength of character, a spirit of zeal, a thirst for knowledge, a desire for advancement, hearts ablaze with the fires of passion, and an interest in helping others.
And then, there’s the other America. There’s the America that is characterized by
greed, sloth, vice, ineptitude, fear, and cowardice. There is an America that boldly faces the future with the mindset that the direction of the prevailing winds of society and politics can be corrected with a clarion call back to the Bible; and there is an America that says, “There is no God, the Founders were atheists, humanists, or at best deists, and America will only thrive when all semblance of God and religion are removed from the public domain.” Hence, the culture war in which we are embroiled.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1781,
“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
How long will His justice sleep? How long will His people sleep? Jefferson understood that in order for America to remain great she must remain good. Good will only come as a result of people rising up in obedience to God’s Word,—rejecting the Baals of today and serving the One True God. Will Christians finally stop faltering between two opinions? “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow Him” (1 Kings 18:21).
Indeed, it is a time for choosing. Our 40th President employed that phrase many times. And, isn’t it true? Isn’t it always a time for choosing? Will Christians continue to be seduced by the glitz and glamour of an increasingly materialistic and hedonistic society, or will we awaken to the dawn of a new day of righteousness in America? What will your choice be?
In Ronald Reagan’s 1992 speech before the Republican National Convention he said,
“A fellow named James Allen once wrote in his diary, ‘Many thinking people believe America has seen its best days.” He wrote that July 26, 1775. There are still those who believe America is weakening; that our glory was the brief flash of time called the 20th Century; that ours was a burst of greatness too bright and brilliant to sustain; that
America’s purpose is past. America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead. America remains what Emerson called her 150 years ago, ‘the country of tomorrow.’”
Founding Father Noah Webster, the “Father of American Scholarship and Education” and author of the Blue Back Speller, observed: “The Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government … and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence.”
Can America’s best days be yet to come, her proudest moments yet to be? It will only be when we reclaim the youth of today and of tomorrow. It will be when religious people rededicate our lives to instilling values of purity, commitment to biblical principles, and obedience to God’s Word rather than the varying dictates of our hearts. America’s best and brightest days will come when Christians decide to become educated with the facts, get motivated to teach them to the next generation, and begin living them in the sight of God and man.
Brad Harrub
****************************************************************************************************
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ provided us with the answer to the restoration of mankind to the principles of Jehovah God:
Matt. 5:16 - Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Friends, the renewal of our great country begins with Christianity’s return to being the force it was in the first century: by God’s people being who they are supposed to be.
Are you doing your part?
What helped our forefathers create a great nation and form of government was their principles and ethical sense of right and wrong. They were not perfect individuals but were at the forefront of their time in bringing about a better form of government than had existed prior to their time, drawn in part from their study and understanding of the Holy Bible.
Notice just a few of the facts from our history:
» 52 of 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence considered themselves to be deeply committed to God and the teachings of the Bible.
» Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence congress imported 20,000 Bibles.
» In 1782 the U.S. congress passed a resolution approving the Holy Bible for use in all schools.
» Mr. McGuffey, author of the McGuffey Readers, called Christianity the “religion of our country.”
» James Madison, the primary author the constitution of the US encouraged people to govern themselves “according to the moral principles of the ten commandments.”
» Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly God focused, including such institutions as Harvard University.
The Founders of all of the 50 state constitutions acknowledged God in their state constitutions. As an example, look at the Illinois preamble:
We the people of the state of Illinois-grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He has permitted us to enjoy and seeking his blessings upon our endeavors...do ordain and establish this constitution for the state of Illinois.
It is not difficult to measure the moral decline in this country when you compare present day attitudes toward God and Christianity against the feelings of our forefathers. Today, we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of humanistic philosophies as well as the continued ridiculous teaching, of the myth, of macro evolution as fact in our schools. The desire to be "politically correct" flies in the face of the attitude of those who fought and died for the right of our citizens to proclaim the existence of and worship the majesty of Jehovah God.
God expects his people to be respectful of the leaders of their country and to set themselves apart from the world. Consider the following verses:
Rom 13:1-2 - Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
1 Tim 2:1-2 - Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
God expects the same respect!!!
Psalms 33:12 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.
Proverbs 14:34 - Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Those who reject God and fail to give Him proper reverence need only look at history to see the results.
The following is an excellent column by Brad Harrub from the July 2007 issue of THINK magazine that perfectly describes how far our great country has declined.
“No country upon earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings than United America. Wondrously strange, then, and much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to neglect the means and to depart from the road which Providence has pointed us to so plainly; I cannot believe it will ever come to pass.” – George Washington, written in a letter to Benjamin Lincoln
George Washington believed America was blessed by Providence. He believed that.
America’s beginnings were blessed and her people would always be resolute to see to it that as a country, she never drifted from her moorings. But is that the case today?
If the Founding Fathers were to travel through time and arrive in the 21st century, would they say we had “neglected the means and departed from the road [on which] Providence pointed us?”
Does America have troubles? One would be foolish to try to dismiss them. But undoubtedly, America is still a great nation with plenty of potential for good days ahead. It is a nation of people who by and large still believe in God (90+ percent), and as a result have strength of character, a spirit of zeal, a thirst for knowledge, a desire for advancement, hearts ablaze with the fires of passion, and an interest in helping others.
And then, there’s the other America. There’s the America that is characterized by
greed, sloth, vice, ineptitude, fear, and cowardice. There is an America that boldly faces the future with the mindset that the direction of the prevailing winds of society and politics can be corrected with a clarion call back to the Bible; and there is an America that says, “There is no God, the Founders were atheists, humanists, or at best deists, and America will only thrive when all semblance of God and religion are removed from the public domain.” Hence, the culture war in which we are embroiled.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1781,
“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
How long will His justice sleep? How long will His people sleep? Jefferson understood that in order for America to remain great she must remain good. Good will only come as a result of people rising up in obedience to God’s Word,—rejecting the Baals of today and serving the One True God. Will Christians finally stop faltering between two opinions? “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow Him” (1 Kings 18:21).
Indeed, it is a time for choosing. Our 40th President employed that phrase many times. And, isn’t it true? Isn’t it always a time for choosing? Will Christians continue to be seduced by the glitz and glamour of an increasingly materialistic and hedonistic society, or will we awaken to the dawn of a new day of righteousness in America? What will your choice be?
In Ronald Reagan’s 1992 speech before the Republican National Convention he said,
“A fellow named James Allen once wrote in his diary, ‘Many thinking people believe America has seen its best days.” He wrote that July 26, 1775. There are still those who believe America is weakening; that our glory was the brief flash of time called the 20th Century; that ours was a burst of greatness too bright and brilliant to sustain; that
America’s purpose is past. America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead. America remains what Emerson called her 150 years ago, ‘the country of tomorrow.’”
Founding Father Noah Webster, the “Father of American Scholarship and Education” and author of the Blue Back Speller, observed: “The Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government … and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence.”
Can America’s best days be yet to come, her proudest moments yet to be? It will only be when we reclaim the youth of today and of tomorrow. It will be when religious people rededicate our lives to instilling values of purity, commitment to biblical principles, and obedience to God’s Word rather than the varying dictates of our hearts. America’s best and brightest days will come when Christians decide to become educated with the facts, get motivated to teach them to the next generation, and begin living them in the sight of God and man.
Brad Harrub
****************************************************************************************************
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ provided us with the answer to the restoration of mankind to the principles of Jehovah God:
Matt. 5:16 - Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Friends, the renewal of our great country begins with Christianity’s return to being the force it was in the first century: by God’s people being who they are supposed to be.
Are you doing your part?