 The Fourth of July Soon we will get out the fireworks, fire up the barbecue, unfurl the flag on the porch, and give (at least in a token sense) some acknowledgment of our forefathers who made the bold moves that resulted in this nation we call America. Listen to the shrill voices of our day and you would think that Franklin and Jefferson were preoccupied with giving rights to terrorists and insuring that public washrooms are designated for transvestites. No, there were infinitely larger issues at stake when these ordinary people risked everything and dared to contend for the freedoms that we take for granted. Like small children perched on the shoulders of giants, you and I are afforded a wide view of a world of opportunities that these brave pioneers could have never even imagined. Make no mistake... it wasn't greed or political ideology that led these folks to cross the ocean to a new world filled with dangers. No, it was a desire to worship the God of the Bible freely that gave these folks the will to endure and to persevere. The revisionists have made it their business to excise any mention of God from our public life; yet when they come to our founding fathers, even they can't remove all the times that Jesus is mentioned in our founders' letters. I have no hesitation at all in saying that the creation of the United States was an answer to the prayers of the pilgrims. The preservation of the United States was a response to the prayers of the saints. And, the survival of the United States will rest on the continued diligence of the Church to intercede on her behalf. America . . . America . . . God shed His grace on thee . . .. Pastor Jim |
