Judaism and Christianity

If we truly consider ‘Time.’ Ever considered the term “It’s outta this world!”? Really? What does that mean? IF a ‘planet’/plane is still is there ‘difference’? God is light,” says 1 John 1:5, “and in Him is no darkness at all.” “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” declares James 1:17, “and cometh down from The Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” … “God is The light of the Heavens and the Earth.

Benjamin Franklin reminded us that time is “the stuff life is made of.” Our earthly existence is marked by time. We “waste” it and “spend” it and “save” it; we have “time on our hands,” or we “make up for lost time”; we speak of those who have “all the time in the world,” while others are “running out of time”; and, then, “when our time is up,” we exit this world. What about in heaven? Will we still experience time as we do now? The short answer is we really don’t know.

First, let’s be clear that, when we say “Heaven,” we are referring to the dwelling place of God. Revelation 21:3–4 says, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The chapter goes on to describe the New Jerusalem, where believers will dwell for eternity.

Some argue that we will not experience time in Heaven because we are told, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23; see also Revelation 22:5). If the cycle of day and night is done away with, perhaps that signals the end of time—or at least our measurement of time. Also, we know that God exists apart from time (2 Peter 3:8), so perhaps those dwelling with Him will also be outside of time.

However, others point to what seem to be clear references to experiencing time in heaven. For instance, Revelation 8:1 says, “There was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Was the “half an hour” simply John’s measurement of the period of silence from an earth-bound perspective, or did the residents of heaven also realize the passage of time?

Those in Heaven appear to be aware of the passage of time on earth, and they may even describe it as “long.” Revelation 6:9–10 says, “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’” Without a doubt, how long is a time-related phrase. These examples occur prior to the eternal state, but they may support the idea that time factors into our existence in the dwelling place of God.

Revelation 22:1–5, speaks of the New Jerusalem: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. . . . There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” The mention of “every month” and “for ever and ever” indicates the passage of time. One might suggest that John was only able to explain his vision in time-bound terms, and that his words do not exactly represent the reality of the vision. However, month is still a time-related word.

When God created the world, He created time—there was a “beginning” (Genesis 1:1). He called the creation, including the reality of time, “very good” (Genesis 1:31). It seems, then, that time is something good and well-suited for God’s creation. As part of God’s creation, we are subject to time. Will that change in eternity? We cannot be sure.

Heaven is beyond our understanding. But we can rest in the fact that our God is good and what He has prepared for us is good. “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children’” (Revelation 21:5–7).

The Seven Principles of the Judeo-Chirstian Ethic

When our Nation’s Founding Father gave us documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and others, they had to lean upon a common understanding of Law, government, social order, and morality. that understanding  sprang from the common acceptance of what has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic, which is the system of moral and social values that originates in the Old and New testament of the Word of God.

Whether each of the Founding Fathers was a Christian was not an issue. their writings, their statements, and their votes evidence that factors the majority of them embraced these great principles as the basis for a civilized nation.

Principle #1- The Dignity of Human Life

The Scriptures emphatically teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. In the Declaration of Independence our nation’s Founding Fathers wrote that everyone has “unalienable rights,” and that among these rights are “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.

If People and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both born and  the unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Binble- it is the first principle of any civilized society.

Principle #2- The Traditional Monogamous Family

Our society has been based upon the belief that the biblical views of traditional marriage and family is the backbone of a healthy social order. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been recognized as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of the union comes children- born into a home a father and mother love them, nurture them, and teach them how to become healthy, productive, and responsible citizens.

The plan of God, nature, and common sense is a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. When the plan is lost, “marriage” and “family” become meaningless, and a nation and its people will follow the road to ruin. World history has proven it over and again. Preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.

Principle #3- A National Work Ethic

Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and the desire to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. This independent  spirit has no desire to simply exist on handouts form government or to depend on the generosity of others. It is this same independent spirited America allowed to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.

Americans have had their challenges. the Great Depression of the 1930’s knocked us to our knees, but it did not beat us. together, Americans helped one another and lifted our nation back to its economic might. The powers of the world look at our nation and ask where that spirit of honest labor came from and where this work ethic originated. Itcame from the men and women who lived before us. Those generations were raised to believe in this third principle of honest work, which is found throughout the Word of God.

Principle #4- The Right to a God-Centered Education

We see in Proverbs 1:7 that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” How can one understand the creation without first knowing its Creator? the answer is that one cannot.

Our Forefathers certainly understood this. For example, did you know that nost of America’s oldest universities such as harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth were founded by Christian preachers or churches? Harvard stated: “Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.” Harvard’s original seal has upon it these words: “Truth for Christ and the Church.”

The early children’s text The New England Primer thought the ABC’s by having children memorize: “A- In Adam’s fall, we sinned all. B _ Heaven to find, the Bible mind.” Today’s youth are tommorow’s America. There is truth in the statement attributed to George Washington: “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

Principle # 5 – The Abrahamic Covenant

Acovenant is a decision involving two individuals or groups statin that they will keep a promise or fulfill an agreement between them. The Book of Genesis records the story of God making a covenant with Abraham. The basis of that covenant was that if Abraham would follow God, obeying His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:5). Abraham believed God, obeyed his Word, and God rewarded him with many descendants, a nation of people now known as Israel.

This principle of the Abrahamic covenant states that if person or a nation obeys God, observing the moral truths found in the Bible, that person or nation will be blessed. If they disobey, they will bring punishment upon themselves. For most of our nation’s history, Americans have accepted the belief that good deeds produce good results and that people who were “God-fearing” in language and in lifestyle would be blessed by Him. That belief has been proven to be true time and again. The writer of Proverbs tells it plainly, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (14:34)

Principle #6- Common Decency

Simply put, this is the belief that a decent nation is made up of decent people. That nation’s, when faced with any trying difficult situation, will do the decent, right, and honest thing. And for the most part, that has been the record of our national history. For example, Amricans have given their lives in wars on fopreign soil so that others might experience freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world’s poor, to clothe the naked, and to aid the hurting. Americans have opened their arms to many of the world’s oppressed and given safe haven. 

Engraved on the bronzed plaque on the base of the Statue of Liberty are these words from a poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus:” Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your timings shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” A World- renowned symbol of freedom, this statue stands to remind us all thar America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.

Principle # 7- Our personal Accountability to God

Perhaps the greatest restraint acts evil toward others is the knowledge that every person and nation will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God. Certainly the Bible tells us that we are responsible for our actions and we must be accountable for what we do or don’t do. It also teaches that there is a penalty for doing wrong and belssing when we do that which is right, noble, and just.

THe great American statesman Daniel Webster was once asked, “What is the most sobering thought that ever entered your mind?” He quickly responded, “My personal accountability to God.” Webster knew that he would one day stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.

A Call to Action

During some of the darkest days of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln remunded the fellow American that “we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven.” To be born in a land of freedom, to live in a nation founded as “One Nation Under God” by those who served the one, true God of the Bible, is both a tremendous privilege and a great responsibility.

While we have much to admire and love and be thankful for in being able to call American our home, our nation is rapidly drifting from its biblical foundations. Our freedom to serve God and to promote the gospel in our land is disintegrating,

we are engaged in a great spiritual battle that threatens our country, our families, and our lives. Only God’s intervention will return America to solid footing and restore a moral nation that righteousness will exalt.

As believers in Jesus, we have His call to be “salt” and “light” to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We must take seriously our responsibility to put God first, not only in our homes but also in our national affairs.

Here is a clear and honorable pathway that any generation of Americans can use to protect that which is right and change that which is wrong within our great nation:

Pray: Our Founding Fathers knew the power and purpose of prayer. From our nation’s beginning through times of war and tragedy, we have been called to pray that the hand of Almighty God might show forth His mercy and intervene with His grace toward America. Today is no different. Second Chronicles 7:14 instructs us: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their land.”

Process. WIthin the God-given wisdom of our founding documents, we have been granded clear and certain processes for bringing about change concerning things that we perceive as wrong for our land. From the local municipality to the halls of Congress and the White House, imbedded in the laws and governmental processes of America are pathways for nonviolent moral, social, and political change. but first they must be learned and understood before they can be properly applied.

Persevere. When fighting for the right, we must never cease until we prevail. The battle is not always won by the strongest, the smartest, or the most elite, but ultimately it comes to those who persist and persevere. When soon-to-be President George Washington led his troops into battle during the Revolutionary War, he lost most of those battles, but through perseverance he ultimately won the war. As a result, we won our independence from the British and became a free people. Our Lord taught us that when we put our hands to the plow of a righteous cause, we are never to look back, but to persevere and overall Luke (9:62).

All the resources of the Almighty God and His Word are available to us. He rules in the affairs of men, and nothing is too hard for Him. He is the sovereign King of the universe, with all power and authority, and He is compassionate, gracious, and ready to extend His love and mercy to us.

Let us band our knees and humble our hearts and pray. Let us be quilling to be used of God to help turn this great nation back to Him. Let us stand in the gap and make our lives to be salt and light in our families and neighborhoods and workplaces. God wants to come and bless us, to forgive our sins and heal our nation.

Exodus 20:13>  “You shall not murder.”

Matthew 22:39>  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Genesis 2:23-24> And Adam said “this is now bones and fleshof my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and  they she all become one flesh.

2 Thessalonians 3:10> For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

Ephhesians 6:4 > And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Genesis 12: 1-3 > Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great: and you shall be a blessing. I will curse him who curses you; and in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Galatians 3:7 therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

Matthew 22:9 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

Blessed is the nation whose God is LORD Psalm 33:12

The meeting of the Second Continental Congress ub May 1776 was well underway in Philadelphia when a tall 44-year-old Virginian, Richard Henry Lee, stood before his peers and called for the Cobtinental Congress to pass a resolution declaring their separation from British rule. This declaration would state that the American colonies would no longer be subject to King George 3 and his oppressive acts of taxation and intimidation. Yes, to those present it seemed to be a noble action by Lee, but little did any og the delegates realize that their actions would soon change the course of world history.

Congress did not vote that day but enlisted Lee’s fellow Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, to draft the Declaration of Independence for their consideration. Finally, after much debate and several revisions, on July 4, 1776, 56 brave patriots adopted the Declaration of Independence to form a new nation that was to become known as the United States of America – a nation dedicated to a new and somewhat radical proposition that all men werte created equal and endowed by thier Creator with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This new experiment of personal liberty and human rights through representative government was uncommon, if not unheard of for its day. Ultimtely, at great cost, the colonies won their freedom in 1783, and the American experiment was underway.

Naturally, many questions had to be answered for the new nation to survive. How would she acquire and preserve her freedom from the British and others powers who would seek to impose wills upon her? If indepenence was achieved, upon what principle of law and government would her constitution be formed? through what lens of understanding would she view the world outside her own people? These questions and many more faced these Founding Fathers.

Fortunately, for them and for us, the source for these answers had already been adopted and its principles interwoven into the charters of the 13 original colonies. That source is the book you hold in your hands today, the Holy Bible. It is the book that bound colonial America society together from Main to Georgia.

Our seventh President, Andrew Jackson said concerning the Bible, “That book, sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests.” Not only was that the opinion of President Jackson, but also the sentiment of countless Americans. On the whole, Americans are a people who love the Bible and the God of the Bible. There is no book more powerful than the Bible to shape the morals and values of men and nations to be right and noble and just. It has proven itself over and over again in the fornation and continuance of the greatest nation in history, the United States of America.

While ither nations have built their govenment upon the shaky foundations of communism, socialism, and countless other anti-God philosophies, only to see those foundations crumble, America stands without equal as a beacon of hope and freedom in a hurting world.  Our Founding Fathers delivered to us a system of government that has enjoyed unprecedented success: we are now the world’s longest ongoing constitutional republic. Well over two hundred years under one form of government is an accomplishment unknown among contemporary nations.

I have found a special edition of the American Patriot’s Bible, you will find a great volume of both information and inspiration revealing the strong cord of the Bible’s had influence that runs through the colorful fabric of our nation’s past and present.

Joining with the sacred text are stories of American heros, quotations from many of America’s greatest thinkers, that present the rich heritage and tremendous future of our nation. if you love the Bible and America, then by faith read my book. 

I have been trying to write a book that America can relate to, I pray and step out in FAITH, and GOD’s wonderful Grace It goes some where. In Jesus name Amen.

Much effort as gone into the quotes and stories included so that the reader can be assuredof the validity of that which is recorded herein. To handle the Word of God in a manner is to do so with great care and respect, and that has been done by all who have been involved in this project. May God bless His truth within these pages, and bless anyone who reads it. May God continue to bless America!

Dr. Richard G. Lee; There’s Hope America

 Leadership Ezra: 8:21- The proclaimed a fast…that we might humble ourselves before our God… 

Courage: Revelation: 12:11- ..and they did not love their lives to the death.

Genesis, Author: Moses

When written: Around 1440 B.C.

Theme: Beginnings

 Key Verses: Genesis: 12:2-3- “I will make you a great nation; I will bless your name great; and you shalll be blessing> I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who cures you; and in all the families of the earth shll be blessed.”

Key Chapter: Genesis 15 – this chapter emphasized the specific promises of the Abrahamic covenant – covenant that is central to all Scripture. God promisesto

1) give His people great land;

2)make them a great nation;

3) pour out great blessing over them.

Foundations are crucial to the success of any venture, from building a house to building a nation. When the Founding Fathers set about to establish the bedrock that would define America’s greatness, they went right to the source, declaring that human life beings are “endowed y thier Creator with certain unalienable Right….

Genesis contains the foundational truth that God is the peace sourceand beginning of all things and our hope only hope for peace, happiness, and true liberty we all crave. In this “book of beginnings,” we witness God’s calling of a covenant people through which He would bring salvation to all the peoples of the earth through His one and only Son.

In The Beginning God…..

Apollo 8, the first mannedmission to circle the Moon, entered a lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. The evening the three astronauts – Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders – did a live televison broadcast during the ninth lunar orbit, in whic they showed pictures of the Earth and the Moon seen from Apollo 8. at the time, the broadcast was the most watched TV program ever:

About six weeks before launch, a NASA official had called Borman and said, ” We figure more people will listen to your voice than that of history. So we want you to say something appropriate.” Appropriayely, the Apollo 8 team ended the broadcast taking reading form the book of Genesis.

William Anders: “We are now apporaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a meeage that we would like to send to you. ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirirt of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light , that it was good: and GOd divided the light from the darkness.'”

Jim Lovell: ” ‘ And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in he midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God mde firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.’ “

Frank Borman: ” ‘And God said, Let the waters under heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.’ And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with a good night, and good luck, a Marry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.

“The Battle Hymn of the Repbulic”

In November 1816, after a visit to a Union Army camp, Julia Ward Howe, wrote the poem that came to be called “THe Battle Hymn of the Republic.” It came the best-known Civil War song of all Union Army as well as a well-loved American patriotic anthem.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coing of the Lord:

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lighting of His terrible swift sword:

His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of the hundred circling camps,

They have building Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;

I can read Hisrighteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:

His day is marching on.

I have read the fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:

“As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall; 

Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,

Since God is marching on.”

He has sounded forth the trumpet thta shall never call retreat;

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgement-seat:

Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!

Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,

With a glory in His bosom tha transfigures you and me:

As HE died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: “A well-regulated 

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Defender: Genesis 14:14 > Now whan Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants…

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

“A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of hte free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Having flrd persecution in Great Britain, the Puritans had laws requiring every famly to own a gun, to carry it in public places, and to train children in the use of firearms. In1619, the colony of Virginia had statues that required everyone to ber arms. Connecticut law in 1650 required every man above the age of sixteen to possess “a good musket or ohter gun, fit for service.”

THe early laws of America are very clear about this. THe people were responsible for hteir own defense and freedoms and needed to be prepared to fight. Thomas Jefferson said, “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right ti bear arms is, as as last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” At the time, there was no concept of a professional army, created and paid to defend the colonies. George Mason, called the father of the Bill of Rights, said, “What is the militia? It is the whole people. TO diarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”

With the approach of the American Revolution, the natural rights philosophers had established the foundation for self-defense. Every man’s life, they said, belongs to God, and to allow one’s life to be taken because one failed to defend it was wrong. This natural law to the right of self-defense, was also applied to the duty to protect one’s family, community, and national liberty, a sacred gift from God.

For the most part, the colonial churches, particularly New England’s Congregational congregations, believe that a revolt against tyrants, such as King George, was to obey God. It may have had its roots in the Old Testament accounts of Israel’s wars for freedom, but it became a powerful fire tht impassioned the citizenry. And it remains a belief that continues to influence Americans’ views about the right to bear arms today.

Protector: Genesis 16:12 > “…. his hand shall be aganist every man, and every man’s hand against him”

The Barbary Pirates

THe Barbary pirates were Muslim pirates who operated from modern-day Morocco Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, from the time of the Crusades until early nineteenth century. They often made raids on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in places such as Algeria and Morocco. It is estimated that from the sixteenth to the ninnteenth century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Euroeans as slaves. France, England, and Spain each lost thousands of ships in these attackes, and long stretches of coast in Spain and Italy were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants.

In 1783, the United States won its freedom from the British monarchy, which had been paying tribute money to the pirates, and in 1784 the first American ship was seized by pirates from Morocco. Two more ships were seized in 1785 by Algeria. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, then the ambassadors to France and Britian, Sidi Adja, asking why his government was hostile to American ships. The ambassador’s response, which was reported to the Continental Congress, stated that it was their right “to plunder and enslave.”

After some serious debate over what to do, the United States chose to fight the pirates of Barbary than pay tribute, as did all the other nations who traded in the Mediterranean Sea. The decision was bold, and the United States Navy was born in March 1794. Six frigates were authorized, and this new military presence helped lead to the two Barbary Wars along the North African coast: the First Barbary War from 1801 to 1805 and the Second Barbary Wr in 1815. Naval victories in 1815 ended tribute payments by the U.S., although some European nations continued annual payments until the 1830s.

The tiny United States Navy broke a patten of international blackmail and terrorism dating back more than one hundred and fifty years. The actions of the United Sttes Marine Corps in these wars led to the line “to the shores of Tripoli” in the opening of the Marine Hymn. Due to the hazards of boarding hostile ships, Marines’ uniforms had leather high collar to protect against cutless slashes. This led to the nickname Leatheneck for U.S. Marines.

Freedom, Genesis 37:28

… and sold [Joseph] to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver

Taking Leberty for Granted

Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States:

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.

 Genesis 45:5 Faith  “….for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

God-Made Rights of God-Made Man

Clarence manion, dean of the Notre Dame College of Law (1941-1952), stated concerning the Declaration of Independence:

Look closely at these self-evident thruths, these imperishable articles of American faith upon which all our government is firmly based. First and foremost is the existence of God. Next comes the truth tha all men are equal in the sight of God. Third is the fact of God’s great gift of unalieable rigths to every person on earth. Then follows the true and single purpose of all Ameican government, namely, to preserve and protect these God-made rights of god-made man.

George Washington placed his hand on Genesis 49:13 as he took the presidential oath of office in 1789,

Genesis 49:13 > “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;

He shall become a haven for ships, 

And his border shall adjion Sidon.

Exodus

Autor: Moses

When Written: Around 1400 B.C.

Theme: Deliverance

Key Verses: Exodus 14:13-14 > “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accompish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.’ “

Key Chapters: Exodus 12 – 14 God’s powerful deliverance of Isral through the blood and through His power is dramatically depicted in these chapters.

On December 17, 1620, a small group of Pilgrims who had left England in search of a greater freedom to worship God dropped anchor of the Mayflower at Plymouth Harbor in what is now Massachusetts. These were some of the very first individuals and families in those soul beat the heart of what we now call the “American spirit.”

THeir flight from oppression mirrored a much earlier Exodus, when God led the children of Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt and into a land that He had promised their forefather Abraham. the Book of Exodus recounts how through His mercy – and through the “bloodd of the lamb”God delivered them great success through obedience to His Word and will.

George Washington, the “American Moses”

Exodus 3:10 > “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of  Egypt.”

“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” said Major General Henry Lee about George Washington, agter his deth. He was surely that and more. Emerging as the most significnt leader in the founding of the United States, he was the essential man, the American Moses, the Father of the Country. At the three major crossroads in the establishment of the nation, he led our troops to victory in the Revolutionary War, he superinended the Constitutional Convention, and he was unanimously elected as the first president.

How, onw wonders, is it possible for so much greatness to be embodied in one man? After all, he was surrounded by a host of other courageous leaders, brilliant thinkers, passionate, orators, and gifted writers – Franklin, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Mason, John ans Samuel Adams, Hamilton, Madison – almost all of whom were far better educated than he. Yet Washington always led the way.

While much has often been made of his physical stature (he stood six feet two inches when the verage man stood five foot seven inches, and he weighted two hundred pounds), or his courage, charisma, energy, vision, calm demeanor, or wealth, it was his high moral t most historical sources commonly cite as the reason for his emergence as the supreme leader. Combine his sterling character and his genius in the area of leadership, and here was a man who could be trusted implicitly to lead over a long period of time and in the course of extraordinary difficulties.

Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, said about Washington: “He was… possessed of the pure, possessed of an extensive influence, but he never used it but for hte benefit of his country…. If you look through the whole tenor of his life, history will not produce to us a parallel.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote of Washington: “His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known. No motives … of freindship or hatered being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. It may truly be said that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance.”

Service Exdous 12:14 >

“So this day shall be to you a memorial…”

What We Can Do for Our Country

In honor of the veterans of the Civil War, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who had been wounded three times during the war, said in a Memorial Day Address in 1884:

It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each od us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return.

“Emancipate! Enfranchise! Educate!”

The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865, completed legislation to abolish slavery, which had begun with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. At Lincoln’s request, Presbyterian minister Henry Highland Garnet was asked to deliver a sermon in the House of Representatives to commemorate the event on February 12, 1865.

For the first time in the history of the Republic, a black American spoke in the Capitol, and he delivered these powerful words:

Augustine, Constantine, Ignatius, Polycrap, Maximus, and the most illistrious lights of the ancient church denounced the sin of slaveholding. Thomaas Jefferson said- at a period of his life when his judgement was matured and his experience was ripe — “There is preparing, I hope, under the auspices of heaven, a way for a total emancipation.” the sainted Washington said, near the close of his mortal career and when the light of eternity was beaming upon him, “It is among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country shall be abolished by law. I know of but one way by which thiscan be done, and that is by legislative action; and so far as my vote can go, it shall not be wanting.” Patrick Henry said, “We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery.” So also thought [this] Congress….

Let the verdict of death which has been brought in against slavery by Congress be affirmed and exected by the people. Let the gigsntic monstor perish. Yes, perish now, and perish forever!… Let slavery die. It has had a long and fair trial; God Himself has pleaded against it. Its deth warrant is signed by God and man. Do not commute its sentence. Give it no repite, but let it be ignominiously executed.

Honorable Senators and Rrepresentatives! Illustrious rulers of this great nation! I cannot refrain this day from invoking upon you, in God’s name, the blessings of millions who were ready to perish but to whom a new and better life has been opened by your humanity, justice, and patriotism. You have  said, “Let the Constitution of the country be so amended that slavery and involuntary servitude shall no longer exist in the United States, except in punishment for a crime.” Surely, an act so sublime could not escaoe Divine notice; and doubtless, the deed has been recorded in the archives of Heaven!… Favored men – ans honored of God as His instruments-speedily finish the work which He has given you to do. Emancipate! Enfranchise! Educate! andgive the blessing of the Gospel to every American citizen!

Integrity: Exodus 18:21 > “…. able men, such as fear God….”

Character Matters 

Noah Webster, known as the  “Father of American Scholarship and and Education” and author of the famous Webster’s Dictionary, stated:

In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect [party] ofthe candidate – look to his character. it is alleged be men of loose principles or defective views of the subject that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. they direct that rules should be men “who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men truth, hating covetousness.”