What Will You Do
For Those Who Have Kept You Free?
This Tuesday, November 11, 2014, we celebrate Veterans Day in the United States of America. This day is set aside each year to honor those who have served in our Armed Forces to keep our country free. This holiday has undergone several changes. In the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day in the eleventh month of 1918 a truce or armistice took place between the Allied nations and Germany. Armistice Day was originally established to honor World War I veterans. In May 1938 November 11 became a legal holiday.
In 1954 the name Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all American wars. In 1968 the Uniform Holidays Bill designated the fourth Monday in October as Veterans Day to create three day weekends for Federal employees. This created much confusion and disapproval at the state level. In 1975, President Gerald Ford returned the commemoration of Veterans Day to November 11 beginning in 1978. Today we set aside November 11 to pay tribute to veterans living or dead who valiantly served our country in time of war or peace. This Tuesday there is a National ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at 11 am to remember the brave who risked their lives to keep us free.
God and Country Must Prevail!
I have included some quotations from legislation concerning Veterans Day. Read over them and note the inclusion of the terms individual responsibility, church, solemn pride, prayer, and “eternal truths upon which our Nation is founded, and from which flows all its strength and all its greatness.”
There was a time in our country, not so very long ago, that men and women served and fought in our Armed Forces with a unified theme of ‘God and country!’ In fact a prayer book entitled, Strength for Service to God and Country, was given to over one million military personnel from 1942-1950. Strength for Service was brought back to life in 2002 by an Eagle Scout named Evan Hunsberger.
Countless veterans today belong to the American Legion. The Preamble of the Constitution of the American Legion, founded in 1919 in Paris, France, begins with “For God and Country.” Their motto is “Still Serving America.”
What Being a Veteran Really Means
You see, once a veteran always a veteran. For those who serve with honor and loyalty on the battlefield or in times of peace, their service to our Nation never ends. Although they may return to civilian life their commitment to God and country remains ever in their hearts. It is always a heart issue. Having grown up in a military family I am blessed to this day when I realize the extreme sacrifices my father and my family made in honor of this great country. My father, like so many veterans, never spoke of the costs but emulated in his daily life that ‘God and country’ are not only worth living for, but for so many, worth dying for.
What Will You Do To Serve?
Christians talk much about service. This week is a perfect opportunity to serve those who have so selflessly served for us. On this November 11 thank a veteran for serving; thank their family for their commitment and service. Military service to this great Nation of ours includes the whole family. Take a meal, lend a hand. Reach out to a veteran and their family this week. Do something in your community to help the countless homeless veterans in this country. Their sacrifices have kept you free. May God richly bless you this week and always. May God ever bless our veterans! To every veteran reading this, thank you!
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” ~Jesus, Matthew 21:43
“For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined.” ~Isaiah 60:12
“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”~President Wilson, November 1919, Proclaiming the first commemoration of Armistice Day
“Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”~The United States Congress , June 4, 1926
“…it is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom’s price. As we stand here in grateful remembrance of the veterans’ contributions we renew our conviction of individual responsibility to live in ways that support the eternal truths upon which our Nation is founded, and from which flows all its strength and all its greatness.” ~President Dwight D. Eisenhower
“In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.” ~President Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Veteran’s Day Proclamation
“Throughout our military history, the Bible has been used as a source for some to find strength for service to God and country”,~American Legion National Chaplain Gerald Theriotof Louisiana –August, 2012
“For God and Country, we associate ourselves together for the following purposes: To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism; to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in the Great Wars; to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation; to combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses; to make right the master of might; to promote peace and good will on earth; to safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy; to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.” ~ CONSTITUTION of The American Legion ––––––––––Preamble
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” ~Billy Graham
“We are never defeated unless we give up on God.” ~President Ronald Reagan
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our diplomatic corps, 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. May the Lord bless them and keep them safe.
Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Muslim extremists and all forms of terrorism. 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.
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. We as Americans and the families of those murdered in Benghazi deserve to be told the truth. Pray that God will open doors to let the truth on all that has been hidden flow for all of us in this United States of America! The truth shall keep us free.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for Christians throughout the world who face violence and death for their faith.
May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. We continue to pray for truth to prevail as we saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk. Fail not in this hour. #Pray for America.
Please Join Me in Prayer
Father God, We thank You for all who have served our country and all who continue to serve today. We pray hedges of protection around them and their families. We pray that You will be at the forefront of every battle leading the way and being the rearguard. May we all hold God and country in our hearts. Grace all in this Nation to return to our roots in You. We thank You that You keep Your hand on America. Forgive our sin and heal our land that we will remain One Nation Under God. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.