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"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." --George Washington
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here." --Patrick Henry
"We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." --James Madison
"There is a striking parallel between the condition of the country and the church. As the Constitution means little to Americans today, so too the Bible means little to the average church member. Church members generally are as ignorant of the Bible as are Americans of the Constitution. Too many people within our borders are Americans in name but un-American in their hearts and anti-American in their conduct. The church has a corresponding ailment, Christians in name, but in reality are only once -born children of Adam. The American spirit is sadly eroded today by distrust, by corruption in high places, by moral decay. It won’t be restored merely by flag-wavings and drum-beatings and Fourth of July speeches. It may not be possible to raise a new crop of patriots in such shallow soil. It may take disaster to make us realize what we had. There is also a Christian spirit in the church that has that need. When in the nation and in the church we humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways, then God will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land." --Vance Havner
FOURTH OF JULY THOUGHTS
A Quote from Band of Brothers: "They depended on each other. And the world depended on them."
I say, "We need to depend on each other so that our community and country can depend on us."
Quote from Band of Brothers: "There Was A Time When The World Asked Ordinary Men To Do Extraordinary Things."
I say, "Once again today we need ordinary men and women to do extraordinary things for their neighbors and for our country."
SOME FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Washington, George (1732-1799) "It is well, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."
Adams, John (1735-1826) "Thomas Jefferson--still survives..." (4 July 1826. Jefferson died later the same day.)
Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) "Is it the Fourth?" (4 July 1826)
Sedgwick, John (1813-1864) "Nonsense, they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." (In response to a suggestion that he should not show himself over the parapet during the Battle of the Wilderness.)
T.J. Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863) "Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.”
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?
In a recent Constitution Poll commissioned by the National Constitution Center, fewer than 50 percent of the respondents knew how many U.S. Senators there are; only 6 percent could name the four rights guaranteed by the First Amendment; and 84 percent thought the Constitution states that "all men are equal."
Last year, in a promotion to introduce a new printer, Hewlett-Packard conducted an American History quiz among 1000 adults in the United States. Two-thirds of respondents didn’t know that the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philade...
When the fireworks display began on the Fourth of July, my six-year-old nephew became so frightened I had to take him home. As we drove away, he said, "I bet God is mad at those people shooting at him!"
—Opal Stout, Cottageville, West Virginia. Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom."
I’d like to be a track star. How cool would it be to stand before a roaring crowd that has stood to its feet because I set a new record in high jump! And I could do it, you know—if the record for high jump stood at two feet. Unfortunately for me, the record is almost 2.5 meters—well over seven feet. Well, what if I get in a track meet with Senior Citizens—surely, a man in his mid-forties ought to come out well then, you would think. But, sure enough, if I were to enter a Mastertrack competition—designed for men 40 and over, I would wind up competing against someone like Phil Fehlen. Never heard of Fehlen? Well, he witnessed history—he was there in 1956, Phil to witness the first 7-foot high jump, by Charlie Dumas. Forty-two years later, Phil made history himself: a world M60 high jump record of 1.72 (5-7 3/4). And he did it on the Fourth of July, only a day after his 63rd birthday. How good was his jump of 5’7" 3/4? How good was the jump? The Age-Graded Tables at Mastertrack.com show that 1.72 meters at age 63 is equivalent to an open mark of 2.48 -- 8-1 1/2! (MasterTrack.com—accessed through Ask Jeeves)
And that’s the problem with me being a high jump star—the bar is too high—I can’t jump five feet much less seven. The standard is just too high.
ABOUT A FEW HEROES
Some may think its fashionable to proclaim that the age of heroes has passed. That the glory years of towering giants has faded into a mist of myth and fable. Well, if you’re looking for heroes -- look around. Look at your next door neighbor, the woman whom you see playing catch with her children on the front lawn. The man who invites you over for a backyard barbeque on the Fourth of July. For it could well be that these men and women shunned a life of comfort and ease, and instead awoke every morning, donned their badge, and put their lives at risk for the rest of us. And some of these heroes paid the ultimate price. We honor them not because of how they died, but because of how they lived.
They lived the life of Highway Patrol Officer Saul Martinez. Officer Martinez saw an oncoming car speeding toward him and reacted quickly enough to push his partner to safety, only to be struck and killed by the car himself. In remembering him, his fellow officers described him as "the epitome of all you could possibly be as a human being." He was a true hero.
They lived the life of Officer Scott Williams, a corrections officer who was snuck up on and stabbed through the neck from behind by an inmate. Though he fell to the ground bleeding...
WESLEY’S CONVERSION
John Wesley become a priest in the Church of England before he had become a Christian. His conversion story is very interesting:
Not long after the first Moravian missionaries came from Germany, Wesley had left for the West Indies, Wesley found himself on board a ship with a group of Moravian Christians on 25th January 1736. That day the weather was rough. Three storms had already battered the boat, and a fourth was brewing. Wesley scribbled in his journal, "Storm greater: afraid!"
But the Moravians trusted God so simply and so completely that they showed no signs of fear. They even held a service at the height of the storm. In the middle of their singing, a gigantic wave rose over the side of the vessel, splitting the main-sail and covered the ship. Water poured between the decks like water pouring over the Niagara Falls - "as if the great deep had already swallowed us up," Wesley wrote. The English passengers shrieked as the ship lurched and pitched between towering waves. A terrified Wesley clung on for dear life.
But the German missionaries didn’t miss a beat. Wesley, awestruck by their composure, later went to the leader and asked, "Weren’t you afraid?"
"I thank God, no."
"Weren’t your women and children afraid?"
"No," replied the man. "Our women and children are not afraid."
Wesley was so struck by their faith that he spoke to one of their main leaders, Peter Boehler, when they arrived in London. Wesley wrote in his journal, "Peter Boehler, whom God prepared for me as soon as I came to London, affirmed of true faith in Christ...that it always has two fruits with it: dominion over sin, and constant peace,
from a sense of forgiveness. I was quite amazed, and looked upon it as a new Gospel." Peter Boehler went on to share a passage with John Wesley, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God." (Romans 8:16)
He then persuaded Wesley into attending a meeting with Boehler’s Moravian Church one evening. Wesley continued on in his journal: "In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a Society in Aldersgate
Street, where one was reading...
