Pray for America
July 4 & Always
As we approach the July 4 celebration of our Nation’s inception take a moment to consider just a few of this past week’s events in America.
-The senate enacted the nationwide same sex marriage ruling. Same sex marriage is now legal in all states despite an individual state’s beliefs or desires. In response the White House was awash in the rainbow colors of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual or Transgender) movement. “Tonight, the White House was lit to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to progress and equality, here in America and around the world. The pride colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community, and tonight, these colors celebrate a new chapter in the history of American civil rights.” ~White House Statement
– While trying to silence a heckler at an LGBT Pride reception at the White House, President Obama said, “Listen, you’re in my house.” The White House belongs to each and every American citizen. He lives there rent free while President. His promise to change America has certainly been moving swiftly but the last I checked the White House still belongs to ‘We the People!’
-Black Panther Leader Malik Zulu Shabazz this week called for an uprising to complete what Denmark Vesey did not finish in 1822. Vesey was a founding member of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina where the nine parishioners were killed last week. Vesey, a free black carpenter and Methodist leader conspired to burn cities, kill white slave masters and their families and then escape to Haiti with his cohorts. The plot was discovered and stopped. Shabazz said in Charleston this week, “We need new Denmark Vesey’s today. We need to complete what Denmark Vesey never finished…Black power by any means…We come to change the order here.” Freedom of speech does not include death threats to individuals or groups of individuals, yet these remarks were made publicly.
-There has been an overwhelming call this week to ban the Confederate flag and monuments to Confederate leaders. Nothing relative to the Civil War period of our history is sacred. Even the epic film, Gone with the Wind, is up for removal from access. Going even further, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader called for the takedown of the American flag. He said, “I don’t know what the hell the fight is about over the Confederate flag! We need to put the American flag down because we’ve caught as much hell under that as the Confederate flag… Who are we fighting today? It’s the people that carry the American flag. What flag do the police have? What flag flies over the non-Justice Department? What flag flies over the White House?”
May Our Flag Always Fly Free
It really was only a matter of time before the American flag was up for removal. Over the last several years there have been many anti-flag movements mostly confined to college campuses. However, this week as we prepare to celebrate the fourth of July with family and friends let us remember what our flag and this great Nation really stand for. In 1776 we declared our independence from English rule and established what would grow to be the United States of America, land of the free and home of the brave. We were established as a Christian nation. Today it would be difficult to see Christianity as having much influence if any between our shores.
Get Out of the Walls!
According to a Pew Research Center, in 2014 Christians comprised 70.6% of the American population of adults eighteen years and older. I cannot help but wonder why with such a large percentage reporting to be Christian our country certainly does not reflect Christian values. Could it be that the majority of the 70.6% are a silent majority who has chosen to sit passively in their churches and keep their beliefs tightly ensconced within the walls? This is not true Christianity.
To follow Jesus Christ is to get outside the walls to walk alongside those in a sick and dying world. To follow Jesus Christ is to live the Bible every day and reflect its teachings in your life. To follow Jesus Christ is to bring others to salvation and let Jesus shine through you to touch and heal others. To follow Jesus Christ is to bring Him with you into the marketplace. To follow Jesus Christ is to be a sold out follower not simply a Sunday name tag wearer.
Take a Stand While You Still Can!
I blame part of the denigration of our country on this silent majority who choose to stay mute within their communities and spheres of influence. Some believe that liking something political on social media is making a difference. Trust me; I doubt your Senators and Congressmen are reading your social media posts. Now is the time to step up, step out of the walls and contact your representatives. Let them know where you stand, what you believe in and what you expect of them. We are heading rapidly down a very deadly path. Each and every one of us is responsible for where we are today. Each and every one of us is also responsible for where we are headed. It is up to each of us.
Today, June 28, 2015, there is a movement across America called Call2fall. I am including a link here so you can commit to get on your knees and pray for this country. Do it today and do it every day. Do it while we are still the United States of America. http://www.call2fall.com
This week take some time to think about what our country and our flag mean. Many black, white, Catholic, Protestant, Jew and more have died so we can live free. They died for the United States of America. They died for a county of diverse races and nationalities. We must not let that freedom fade into the annals of history because of a few who would rather incite division and see all of our freedoms taken away. As I have said before, we are losing our rights on a daily basis. Now is the time to stand up and be counted. We are allegedly 70.6% strong. Is anybody out there?
Songs to Inspire You This Week
The Star Spangled Banner https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gv8mIF7l-A
God Bless America, Sandi Patti https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XD-aXtcUEOs
God Bless the USA, Lee Greenwood https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hD4RFjmlzcQ
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” ~Jesus, Matthew 5:14a, 16
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” ~Jesus, Matthew 12:25
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of god, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” ~1Peter 2:9-10
“For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined.” ~Isaiah 60:12
“Darkness in culture is an invitation for those who carry the light to develop a relationship with those in darkness and displace darkness with a light-filled life. “…darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. “As long as you are in the culture There Is Light!” ~Bob Hazlett
“This week is going to go down as a very, very historic week. May I suggest we return to God and we do so quickly. And we beg for his forgiveness on all of the things that we have done wrong to one another and we try to find our way to one another. Because the world has changed. The fundamental transformation of America is over. The president has fulfilled his promise five days before he started. The fundamental transformation of America is here. We are no longer a country that is following the Constitution of the United States of America. That is a thing of the past.” ~Glenn Beck
“It’s a good time for churches in USA to separate civil ceremonies and church ceremonies to clearly show the difference.” ~Father Jonathan Morris
“Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, reporting to Congress on the Seal, stated: The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.” Also this from a book about the flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives…”The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.” http://www.usflag.org/colors.html
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe.
Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Islamic extremists and all forms of terrorism. Pray for Christians who face violence and death for their faith. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history. As Iranians and Islamic extremists are shouting ‘Death to America,’ let us speak life, hope and a return to God in America!
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. The lives lost in Benghazi, the continuing targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Fast and Furious, the Department of Justice targeting journalists phone records, the National Security Agency overstepping its legal authority are hardly “phony scandals.” We continue to pray for truth to prevail in each of these situations. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for those relentlessly targeted and for all of us who are proud to call ourselves American.
May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk with the Lord, saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America. Fail not in this hour.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pray for those in Charleston, South Carolina who lost friends and loved ones. Pray for God’s healing grace to surround all.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father God, we thank You for the ultimate price that Jesus paid to set us free. Raise us up in this season to pray without ceasing for this country. Place deep in our hearts Your compassion for our fellow men and women. Teach us to bring Your light to the very place You have positioned us. Call every Christian to boldly come forth in this season. Call every Christian to live for You first with love of family and country deep in their hearts. Place deep in our heart the love of God and love of country that has guided our Nation from its inception. Lead us to pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters who suffer at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Open the eyes of our leaders to arise in this season to defend the very belief in You upon which our Nation is founded. Thank You for keeping Your hand on America. We humbly pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.