Thoughts for the 4th

 

The Declaration of Independence, the document drafted and circulated in the colonies, sparked a revolution.  In our turbulent time we should remember that 1776 saw the people divided, those rebelling against the Crown of England in conflict with their neighbors who remained Loyalists. This document was radical. It re-defined the way people thought about government, rejecting the authority of the king and insisting that government’s legitimacy comes  “from the consent of the governed.”  The Declaration opens and closes with references to God and Providence. Thomas Jefferson and those who assisted him in drafting it, understood that the world belonged to God and was ultimately shaped by His will. (By the way, they were not devout evangelical Christians in spite of the myths you have been told!) Knowing that the revolution would be costly and unlikely to succeed without the help of God, the authors looked upwards as they wrote of their “firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.”

Two centuries later America is a world power, a wealthy nation, and a broken society. We are in desperate need of the protection of Divine Providence!  We may have assumed, not all that long ago, that our treasured freedoms and democracy were beyond collapse, that America would always be envied among the nation.  How wrong that assumption was. Life and liberty are at risk from those who would rewrite our social contract. Our government is big, corrupt, and tramples our individual freedoms with ever more invasions of our lives. Our prosperity has become a curse, deceiving us to think we do not need God.

America has lost her way spiritually. Whatever devotion to Christian ideals might have existed is evaporating. Moral rot eats at the heart of the nation!  Our justice system imprisons millions. Corporations buy politicians who worship party over national good. Media outlets are largely outlets of propaganda. Our churches are weak, their message a whimper of niceness. Because we do not fear the Lord we are incapable of naming sin or calling people to the Gospel of Christ and spiritual renewal. Individually, we have turned to Self, relegating God to the edge of our consciousness.

But, I am not without hope. God has always preserved for Himself a ‘remnant.’  In times of spiritual decline, when God allowed judgment to fall on His people, there were always  the faithful. They were not numerous, often hidden from public view, but they relied on the Lord, a faithful remnant. Paul says "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." (Romans 11:5, NIV)  No, I do not mean to imply that America is guaranteed revival and restoration because of the prayers of the few. She may be, or she may find herself, like a thousand societies before her, on history’s trash pile. But, God’s Church will survive to bear His Name before the world.

I do love my country. I pray for her to truly become what she has aspired to be – a place where there is liberty and justice for all.  I pray earnestly for true repentance to come from humility before Him, that our minds and hearts would take this counsel of the Lord to humbly consider our ways, to turn from our sins, to seek Him. And this I know, that it is the nation who trusts in the Lord that finds the blessings of God.  On the 4^th of July, would you find a time to pray?  Pray with me that the Spirit of God will preserve a remnant of the righteous, that they will faithfully bear witness to His Gospel and goodness.

• Pray for individual Christians to live the kind of godly lives (Oh, Lord, start with my heart!) that causes others to desire to know Jesus Christ.
• Pray for Churches to become powerful catalysts of genuine spiritual transformation, places where God’s truth is loved and ALL people find grace and acceptance.
• Pray for those who govern, that they will recognize - like the writers of the Declaration - the need for reliance on the protection of Divine Providence and humble themselves to seek Him.

A word from the Word -  "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine." (Psalm 33:12-19, NIV)

__________

America The Beautiful

(Ray Charles does it right!)

O beautiful for spacious skies

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain

America, America God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness

America, America God mend thine ev'ry flaw

Confirm thy soul in self control

Thy liberty in law

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life

America, America may God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And ev'ry gain divine

Katharine Lee Bates © Words: Public Domain

You Owe Me

 

Do you think that the world owes you something regardless of your effort or abilities? The prosperity of the late 20^th century gave many parents the notion that they should make sure that their children never had to struggle in the way that previous generations did. What grew out of a well-intentioned impulse to make life easier actually led to a steep increase in entitlement. Reward was disconnected from effort and replaced with a new mantra: “You owe me. … my cell phone, a nice car, a high-paying job.”  Entitlement has worked into every part of our society, among young and old, rich and poor.

Those are most enmeshed in entitlement are extremely protective of their personal happiness. They feel an exaggerated sense of self-importance often believing themselves more talented or qualified than they really are. They lack an ability to compromise and work towards shared solutions because it is next to impossible to let go of what they consider a basic human right of self-expression. Thinking that they should be admired and respected they are quickly offended by that person who suggests that they are, in fact, ordinary human beings who need to earn their place in the world.

Christian, is your Christianity marred by a sense of entitlement?

When you pray, is it to commune with God, to become wise in His ways,

or do you mostly pray “bless me, Jesus” prayers for a better life?

Entitled Christians are not able to recognize the goodness of God. They are almost completely incapable of true worship or sincere thanks.

And there is this - ingratitude is a fertile soil that nourishes spiritual rebellion!  In the first chapter of Romans, the desperate state of depraved humanity is outlined with an ugly recital of sin. Where does it all begin? "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21, NIV)  Mistakenly thinking, God owes me happiness, He owes me a life without struggle, turns me into an entitled people who demands more. Ungratefulness makes me more and more Self-centered, increases my doubt about the goodness of the Lord, and eventually twists me into a bitter cynic. In that place, I lose out on the life-enriching fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Christian, this short phrase is more than a slogan; it’s a life principle. "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV)  Thankfulness expands our capacity to love – both God and others. Let me ask a hard question – are you humble enough to be grateful?  God owes us nothing yet provides, in His love, all things for our good. He loves us while we are ignoring Him. He entered a broken world to die for us on the Cross when we were full of Self. He pursues us when we go our own way.  Confronting our pride and entitlement, the truth of Scripture reminds us that "God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT)

Let’s invite the Spirit to show us where we are acting as if God owes us and repent. Peter teaches us the way of the humble. "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:5-6, NIV)  In that humility we learn to accept the good gifts of the Lord. We learn to be steady in faith when times are bad. And, we enjoy the best gifts of the Lord rather than those we think He should provide for us.

Let’s cultivate real gratitude.  If we wait for it to just ‘show up’ in our lives, we will die feeling God and the world owes us more!  But, if we humble ourselves, take note of His faithfulness often as well as the goodness of others, we to give and receive from hearts made noble by the Lord’s work in us.

Here’s a word from the Word. "Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20, NIV)

"Thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves. He poured great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry got plenty to eat. " (Psalm 107:8-9, The Message)

__________________

Give thanks

With a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given

Jesus Christ His Son

And now let the weak say

I am strong

Let the poor say

I am rich

Because of what

The Lord has done for us

Give thanks

Henry Smith

© 1978 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Cracks that lead to collapse

Around 6 on the evening of August 1, 2007, a bridge that spanned the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis was packed with traffic backed up by a construction project. Suddenly it collapsed. 111 vehicles including a school bus plunged downwards with steel and concrete. 13 people died and 145 were injured. Engineers knew the bridge was weakened by structural deficiencies. That was why the construction was ongoing, but nobody knew at the time that a design failure in connecting plates was an incident just waiting to happen. Those plates had been made too thin. They were gradually cracking with time’s passing. Finally one of them tore along a line of rivets. Tragically, the added weight of the construction equipment and materials in place to repair the bridge most likely contributed to the tragedy of the collapse.

Is your life in danger of collapse? Integrity is a quality of character that is of inestimable value. It means being the same person privately that we appear to be publicly. Honesty is part of integrity but it goes deeper. Integrity is about more than our words – it is a basic attitude about life, a commitment to authenticity, a refusal to pretend, cover up,  excuse, or create an image. In part it flows from self-awareness, from being content to be no more or less than we are, even while committing ourselves to growth and development.

Don’t confuse integrity with perfection! A person who tries to appear flawless is surely going to lack integrity. We are human which means we certainly have places in our lives that are ‘under construction,’ flaws and sins. To live with integrity does not necessarily mean that we put all the ‘dirty laundry’ of our lives on display for all the world to see. It does mean that we are committed to transparency before God and people who are close to us.

John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, points out one of the key parts of integrity. It is ‘confession.’   He says "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world." (1 John 1:8-2:2, NLT)

“Sin” is one of those words that many no longer understand or accept. When the Bible talks about sin, it is not just speaking to single acts – cursing, lying, stealing, hating. Sinfulness is the natural state of humanity apart from the intervening grace of God. Naturally, regardless of good intentions, we cannot be the person God made us to be. “No, Jerry, that is not true. We are noble creatures and our failures are the result of lack of education or opportunity, or poor parenting, or a lack of self-esteem.” 
Yes, I know that is what we are taught but it is flatly contradicted by God’s truth. Education, opportunity, good parenting, and good emotional health are amazing resources but even with all those advantages – people fail to the do right things. It is hard to admit so we rationalize, excuse, blame, and/or cover up our failures, those cracks in our character. Paul, speaking of his life apart from Christ’s grace says “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?" (Romans 7:24, NLT)  His answer? Jesus Christ!

The Gospel of Christ invites us to look at ourselves without excuse and to get honest to God! When we confess our sinfulness, “Oh, God, be merciful to me,” He responds graciously and faithfully with two amazing gifts. He wipes away the guilt and He makes us clean, inside out. Confession is an interesting word. Most basically the Biblical word means to say the same thing. Instead of saying, ‘Yes, I know I have a temper that is out of control but that’s because my Dad was temperish, too,”  we agree with God that our temper makes us ungodly. We stop making excuses, ask His forgiveness, as well as the forgiveness of those we have wounded, and then we allow the Holy Spirit to start changing us inside out.  The result of that admission – integrity.

Christians cannot live in the false comfort of excuses - “Oh, well everybody does …,” or “That’s just me…” or “I was born this way.” Our calling is to become holy, dedicated to God’s purposes for life. This is possible only when Christ is Savior and Lord, when sin is being overcome, when we are living with integrity.  The Word is clear about the importance of choosing our master.  Christ came to set us free from the broken natural state of humanity so that we overcome sin. "So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God." (Romans 6:11-13, NLT)

Are you holding onto some secret sin?
Do you refuse to respond to the Spirit’s invitation to get it right? 
Do you hate someone and resist confessing it to God?

Do you hang onto resentment, refusing to forgive with Christ’s help?

Guilt need not keep you captive. Shame need not keep you in the shadows. Regret need not be your destiny.  God’s invitation to us that we come to Him confidently to find forgiveness and to get cleaned up. The Word says, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7, KJV)

Make integrity your desire. Get honest with God and yourself. The result is a life that is strong and blessed.

Here is a word from the Word.

"Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. …  
Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes." (Psalm 112:1-8, NIV)

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants;
day and night they think about his law.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper." (Psalm 1:1-3, NLT)

____________

Just Jesus

(a beautiful new song about our Hope)

There's a fire in Your eyes

That burns through all my pride

There's an altar in Your hands

For the laying down of my plans

Here I am now

And all of me bows

Simply and only

Just Jesus

There's a whisper in Your voice

That cuts through all the noise

There's a song inside Your heart

That tears every lie apart

Here I am now

And all of me bows

Simply and only

Just Jesus

You've reduced me down

To this one thing right now

And all of me cries out

For simply Jesus

Simply Jesus

Only Jesus

Mark Tillman | Sarah Tillman

© 2020 Mark and Sarah Tillman Music (Admin. by Watershed Music Group)

CCLI License # 810055