Whose Law is it Anyway?

(Note: This entry contains comments based on questions raised by a friend about an article. As such, this entry is divided into sections for various parts of this discussion.)

https://www.npr.org/2020/10/05/920416357/justices-thomas-alito-blast-supreme-court-decision-on-gay-marriage-rights)

First of all, I commend you for reading and researching to be well informed on issues! :-)    

      This is a thorny topic and there are a lot of things that could be said on it. I will try to answer some questions raised here as briefly as I can.

    Why is the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling considered to be "ruinous" for religious liberty? If those who oppose same sex unions based on religious views, (which would include Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Christians), are forced to perform and endorse such ceremonies or ostracized because of their beliefs, then yes- those are ruinous effects on religious liberty.

    To the point about the divorce rate among straight couples, it is true that it is a 50% or more rate and that is very sad. That is certainly not part of God's design for marriage. In Matthew 19, Jesus says the only allowance God makes for divorce is for marital unfaithfulness. 

Of course, just because the sanctity of marriage has been cheapened by this sin does not mean that it should be further compounded with more sin.

   To be clear, the phrase "separation of church and state" is not actually in The U.S. Constitution. I agree the state should not tell the church what to do. The church doesn't tell the state what to do though; God tells everyone what to do in The Bible.

   Laws man puts in place must still be based on something beyond himself otherwise it's just popular opinion.

   Marriage is indeed a religious institution as God performed the first marriage in Genesis 2 in giving Eve to Adam. Genesis 2:24 defines God's standard for marriage, as Jesus quotes in Matthew 19- "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." (Note the order there of leaving parents, joining in holy matrimony and then having sexual relations as husband and wife. Note also that God's design is one man joined with one woman for life.)

    That is the primary reason for objecting to the idea of a same sex union, though one could argue biology speaks to this as well, which would be a non-religious reason.

   To hold to this belief only makes a religious person bigoted against sin, as is God for that matter. Of course, God doesn't say things arbitrarily. As the Creator and Designer of all life, He has the right and authority to lay down laws for everyone.

    No one wants their freedoms taken away but I don't believe that has happened. People who identify as having homosexual tendencies have always been free to marry. However, marriage is still defined as the "institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family." It's "the mutual relation of husband and wife in wedlock." (That's from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, copyrighted 1999.) The word "marriage" itself dates at least to the 14th. century in the English language. And the institution is as old as the beginning of time.

    What the 2015 US Court case does is redefine the meaning of marriage to be expanded to include partners of the same sex. And that directly goes against God's Word, both in violating the design laid out in Genesis 2:24, as well as in violating the commands against homosexual coitus (Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, among others). (Since many people enter into marriage with the expectation of having sex at some point with their spouse.)

    Yes, we should all be concerned about our walk with God. Part of that requires Christians to speak out against wrong doing and warn people about the wages of sin, which is death. (Romans 6:23) But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus died and rose to pay for all sins for all time, including the sin of homosexual relations. He wants to save everyone who will let Him. All one needs to do is to confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead. (see Romans 10:9-13) Put faith in Jesus and Jesus alone for forgiveness of all sins and follow Him in repenting of those sins and asking Him to help you in obedience to Him. We are saved by faith alone in His grace alone through Christ alone- and that salvation changes us to do the good deeds He made us to do all along in gratitude to Him for what He's done.

    All that said, everyone has to make their choice. We all have free will. America must base its laws on something. It has largely been based on the moral precepts of The Bible due to the Judeo-Christian heritage of many of the founders. How does one distinguish which laws Americans deem acceptable? What is the moral basis for those laws?

The standard of "do no harm to self or others" seems to be what I often hear. If that's the standard used, I would say that homosexual unions do hurt someone- they hurt God and they hurt the people who engage in them.

   Of course, even if one wanted to argue that a particular action could not be hurting any human- like choosing to kill one's own pet animal- I would still say it's wrong because it is a violation of the higher law that God has put on all of us to take care of all His creation.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says that whatever we do must be done for God's glory. Thus, any sin that one engages in would be violating that command.

   That's what it comes to in the end. Either we will choose to follow Christ and live for His glory or reject Him and live for our own. I personally don't agree with the 2015 court ruling but I also recognize I can't force anyone to live according to The Bible. All I can do is lovingly tell people about Jesus' grace and the salvation He offers that gives us a peace and joy and satisfaction infinitely better than the hell our sins lead us to and any temporary enjoyment they might bring before then. Jesus is better than anything else I desire. I choose to follow Him. All I want to do is love The Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself and speak the Truth in Love. 

(Follow up comments)

Those are some good questions. Should people of different religious beliefs (or none) be forced to comply with rules they may not agree with? Perhaps that comes across as unfair to some but everyone has to deal with that though. The law applies equally to everyone. Thus, there are things the law allows that I don't believe in but I am still forced to abide by the laws of the country.

(This is a bit of a different conversation, but this is where Romans 13 and its call for me to respect the government authorities God put in place would come into play. However, at the same time, I must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29) As I've long said, if it ever comes down to God vs. the government, I choose God over the government.

   As to the way people are born, I would agree that there are people born with homosexual inclinations. That doesn't mean God made them to be that way. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:29 says God made man upright but they have sought out many schemes. God made Adam and Eve morally perfect but He also gave them free will. They chose to sin and cursed the whole world to be subjected to sin ever since. Thus, those born with homosexual inclinations are born that way because we're all born into sin. (Psalms 51:5)

 (One could say the same for someone born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a proclivity to drunkenness as a result. Getting drunk is a sin (Ephesians 5:18) but such a person still has a choice over whether to pick up the bottle or not. The same is true for homosexual people in choosing whether to engage in such relations or not.)

In fact, there are a number of Christ followers who struggle with that inclination who choose to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Christ in a life of celibacy in order to be obedient to the sexual ethos God lays out in The Bible. (Check out  

https://spiritualfriendship.org/ if you're interested in hearing their testimonies and writings on these matters.)

    And of course, I don't expect you to agree with everything I say and that's okay; that's your right to do so, just as I don't agree with all your points either but I respect your right to them.

   That is sad that some would be disadvantaged financially with healthcare because of a marriage by law. It's a shame that our laws are not made to incentivize marriage more. 

I don't mean to be harsh but if one wants an answer to God's view of marriage, I would point one to Jesus' words in Matthew 19 about one man being united to one woman for life in holy matrimony.

I do believe God understands and cares about people in such conditions though as well. I would also suggest considering Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman in John 4. Philippians 4:19 says God will provide for all our needs for those who are in Christ. Oftentimes following Jesus means going against human wisdom but we must also trust that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

   I am sorry for those facing trying circumstances in relationships and I pray that God might bring them aid in dealing with those and wisdom in regards to marital status. I would also suggest seeking counsel with a church pastor, who might be able to help with further resources. ❤

There are a number of Christian ministries that help with such concerns. Here is one such example. (http://www.coopmin.org) 

(Other comments)

Every person's beliefs guide their work (and life in general). That goes for religious and non-religious people.

   The Supreme Court justices are supposed to rule based on the Constitution, even if it's at odds with their religious or non-religious beliefs.

   Of course, it's worth noting that the framers of the Constitution certainly at least to some degree relied on the moral precepts of The Bible, given the Judeo-Christian heritage of many of the USA's founders.

   Whatever laws man puts in place are based on something- either God's Word or popular consensus. 

I can understand people's concerns on this and I appreciate the sentiment that Supreme Court Justices should be interpreting the Constitution and not seeking to work their own particular religious beliefs into law. They are not supposed to be lawmakers in the first place.

And yes, I am thankful for the First Amendment that guarantees the freedom of religion for all (as well as the freedom to not hold to a religion too.)

     

Up in the Air

Things are all up in the air. And of course, we usually say this phrase with uncertainty and dismay- and the dismay comes generally because of the uncertainty of a potentially bad situation. We like to have that control and certainty- it's very hard sometimes to live in uncertainty- particularly since we know the prince of the power of the air that we once trembled under still works to seek us woe. (Ephesians 2:2) But the prince of darkness grim- we tremble not for him. One little word will fell him.
    Instead, we look to The Lord who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and rules over all. And when we leave things up in the air, it's an act of trust because we know it's really in The Lord's hands. And it's in the air that we meet The Lord by faith. (1 Thessalonians 4:11)
       So while we don't want to put on airs, we do want to air not on the side of caution, but air on the side of reckless abandon in the Creator of air and everything else. I keep trusting Him from here and now all the way through when I cross the air Jordan- and beyond. :-)

Season for the Reason: Free At Last (The Scriptures, Slavery and The Saviour)

       The Bible includes passages to govern a number of things that at first glance might seem weird and disconcerting to a modern sense of justice. One such scenario includes a number of Old Testament and New Testament verses where The Bible seems to endorse slavery. Read Exodus 21, Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 15, 1 Corinthians 7 and others in The Bible and you will find a lot of verses that deal with this topic.  I admit that to a Western mode of thinking, specifically an American mode of thinking, some of those Bible verses might sound indeed like an endorsement of slavery. However, there are some things we should remember in reading those passages.

         First of all, there is this question to consider. Did God create slavery or did sin create slavery? In those verses and all the others in The Bible regarding slavery, I don't see any where God is commanding the institution of slavery as Americans know it from the very sad history of American colonialism and the Atlantic slave trade. However, The Lord God does lay out rules to the Israelites regulating how they must operate within the slavery system that already existed. Laying out rules to govern an institution is not the same as instituting it. (A good example for comparison here is when Israel decided they wanted to have a king like other nations, rather than the theocracy already in place with God as their King and Master. It was not God's desire to have this in place- He directly warned them what would happen with an earthly king, but they chose to do it anyway- and so He allowed them to have a king- and they got Saul. And then David and Solomon and then the kingdom split in two. [see 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel and 1 Kings and 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles for the history on that.] God gave Saul instructions on what to do in his role as king, but this doesn't mean God initiated the kingship rule in Israel- He clearly gave that choice to the people.) Sin led the Israelites to reject God as their ultimate King and choose an earthly ruler instead just as sin led people to take others against their will into slavery.

        Secondly, there are Bible passages that condemn slavery. (see Exodus 21:16 and 1 Timothy 1:8-11 for some.) When we read The Bible, we must take the totality of Scripture into account. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, correcting and rebuking. How does the view of God allowing slavery and even encouraging it square up with all the rest of Scripture where God clearly condemns slave-trading in some verses as I just mentioned and makes clear that we are to "Do unto others as we would have done unto us"? (Jesus says this in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31) Remember also that God repeatedly reminds Israel how He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. Surely Israelites of all people would know the misery and horrible injustice of unjustly forced servitude and would not look to inflict such pain on someone else. That would go against the command to love our neighbors as ourselves, both those who are of our family and those who are strangers, as Leviticus 19:18 and Leviticus 19:33-34 show.

          Thirdly, we must also consider that The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and it was written primarily to Jews. Thus, it's important to read The Bible in that context and read it in the mindset of Jewish people from thousands of years back. We need to understand the history, geography and culture of the people the Bible books were written to in contemplating its meaning. And it's important in this case to consider the customs of surrounding pagan nations as well. Israel was a stark contrast to the prevailing ideas and customs of its day in that time. What exactly is meant by the word "slave" in The Bible? The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament passages mentioned at the start of this piece is "eved ivri", which had two categories- a robber paying off his crimes and someone selling himself into slavery out of desperation and destitution.

          The reasons for slavery were different than ones Americans might readily think of, in regards to forced servitude against one's will for reasons of pure cruelty and sin. (Something The Bible condemns in Exodus 21:16) It is also significant to note that there is a continual theme in The Bible, moving from the Old Testament to the New Testament, in pushing for freedom from slavery; however, such movements don't happen overnight, but rather over the course of time. (See Leviticus 25, which outlines The Lord's commands for the Year of Jubilee, when slaves were set free in the seventh year of servitude. For a beautiful spiritual comparison, see Romans 6, which talks about being freed from being slaves to sin and becoming slaves to righteousness- slaves to Christ- instead. And then see the book of Philemon where these two concepts- physical and spiritual- come together in the person of Onesimus and Paul's pleadings to Philemon to accept him as a brother in The Lord and no longer as a bondservant- so that he might be both free spiritually and physically. And of course, as Galatians 3:28 tells us, there is no slave or free [or Jew or Greek or male or female]- but we are all one in Christ.)

        This redemptive story of setting physical slaves free reflects the heart of the Gospel in setting spiritual slaves free. We are either slaves to Jesus or slaves to sin. Jesus Christ Himself became as a slave for us, as Philippians 2 says. Though He was God He made Himself nothing and became a slave and humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross! (It's significant to note this because Deuteronomy 21:22-23 and Galatians 3 both say that a hanged man on a tree is cursed. Christ became the curse of sin for us- see also 2 Corinthians 5:21.) For this reason, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name above all names that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God raised Jesus back up from the dead, as Romans 10:9 says. And by our faith in His completed work of righteousness, He saves us from all our sins and will raise us up from the dead as well to be forever with Him in Heaven instead of hell as we deserve. Praise God for His love! His love reaches to all and desires to save all us slaves from the hopelessness of our own sins and set us all free instead to be forever in His presence in eternal joy in Heaven praising Him! And, as John 8:36 says, He who the Son sets free is free indeed! :-)

(See also these excellent articles that I drew some of the above points from for this writing. This article offers a Jewish perspective on the topic of slavery in The Old Testament. It's from the "Jewish Bible Quarterly" and authored by Dr. Shimon Bakon, Editor Emeritus of the magazine.

Here is also a Christian perspective on this question from Andrew Schmidt, a writer for "The Bearing", a leading Australian evangelical publication for over 20 years from Matthias Media.)

The Truth's Lying in Plain Sight

         As a precursor, I want to note that I generally strive to avoid political posts and this one is no different. I don't hold to any particular party (just Jesus above all)- and this is not about parties and politics- it's about purity.
         I was thinking earlier today about the truth and how it has so many interesting manipulations, particularly by American presidents in recent memory. President Nixon- "Tricky Dick"- claimed boldly, "I am not a crook." Maybe not, but he was unfortunately a liar. (He was smart enough to resign before he got impeached.) President Clinton- "Slick Willy"- needed clarification on the meaning of the word "is" during his impeachment hearings. (He was eventually acquitted, as there were not enough votes for the perjury and obstruction of justice charges to stick.) Of course, President Bush (I'm not aware of pejorative nicknames for him, though I'm sure people assigned him some) sold the whole Iraq war on what was shown to be a false presumption about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Numerous charges of questioned truth claims were leveled at President Obama and I suppose his biggest faux pas would be the whole debacle over the handling of the healthcare bill. President Trump's administration talks about the plethora of "fake news" floating around, but also talks about the existence of "alternative facts". How does that even work?
          In years past, we had President "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington, who had the famous story about cutting down cherry trees- "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree." Of course, I'm sure one could find untruths true of all political leaders and people in general at some point or another. The point here is that we are all sinners and all in need of The Truth. Romans 1:25 says that we exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That is indeed the problem- we've moved from a picture of grace and nature being held as the ideas guiding our society to non-rationality and rationality being the two guiding ideas- and we escape from reason as the basis for truth to embracing feelings as the basis for truth instead. [Note: I've been reading Francis Schaeffer lately. ;-) I have to credit him for a lot of this post, and ultimately to God for inspiration for both of us.]
As Relient K said, "Sometimes when you're trying to sleep and all your doubts and your faith don't agree, it's cause sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth."
         It's important to note that Jesus identifies Himself not only as The Way and The Life (in John 14:6) but also The Truth. When we come into relationship with Him through faith in His death and Resurrection, we find ourselves in The Truth and come to understand that our identity in Christ is our true selves that the Fall has driven us away from. We live now as shells- men with hollow chests as T.S. Eliot said and C.S. Lewis alluded to as well. Colossians 3:1-4 says that when we come to Christ, we die and our true life is then hidden with Christ in God. His Way of Life really is the only Life- living in line with the design God had for us all along- to be loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Romans 2:9-18 makes it abundantly clear that none of us are righteous- none of us are pure. Yet it's the pure in heart who shall see God, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:8.
        That's exactly why Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God, had to intervene and live out the requirements of the Law that we could never keep. And when we put all our faith into Christ's righteousness and completed work, our falsehoods are recognized for what they are and our eyes are unveiled and we can see the Truth of Jesus for Who He is- and know The Truth who sets us free. (John 8:32-36) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)

We Built This Country (song)

Yes, the starship has descended once more with yet another parody from yesteryear.
This song is a parody of "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship. And my parody uses some quotes from guys like Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson (The Declaration of Independence) and of course, The Bible. Read through the Declaration and the Constitution and you'll see both have clear references to God. Just look at the Preamble to the Constitution.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Look at the definition of "blessing" from dictionary.com

1. the act or words of a person who blesses.
2. a special favor, mercy, or benefit: the blessings of liberty.
3. a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.
4. the invoking of God's favor upon a person: The son was denied his father's blessing.
5. praise; devotion; worship, esp. grace said before a meal: The children took turns reciting the blessing.
6. approval or good wishes: The proposed law had the blessing of the governor.


Hmm- a blessing is a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness. Someone has to give the blessing- and only God can give true liberty and freedom!

And it's even more obvious in The Declaration of Independence.

"When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness......"

(And check out how we're gonna pull this Revolutionary War thing off)-

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Thomas Jefferson acknowledged the sovereignity of God three times here. One of the first things the Pilgrims did when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 was to erect a cross and have a minister say a prayer to God for them. In 1954, by an act of the Supreme Court, the phrase "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance- what we all grew up saying most every day in elementary school. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower had the phrase "In God We Trust" printed on all American currency- check your money- it's still there!

Check out the full lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner", our country's National Anthem. Especially look at the last verse! http://hjem.get2net.dk/niels_quist/usa.htm

"Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust'. And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

I love this last verse!!! It's even better than the first (and most familiar) one. That verse just asks the question, "Does the Star-Spangled Banner still wave over America- the land of the free and the home of the brave?" The last verse emphatically answers- "YES, IT DOES!!!!" (Forever may she wave!)

But we must still remember God's Word- "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." (Psalms 33:12)

So here you go........

"We Built This Country"

(parody of "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship;
copyright Nathan Ludwick 08/15/2007)
Psalms 33:12
Psalms 46:1
Psalms 55:22
Psalms 111:10
Psalms 146
Proverbs 3:33
Proverbs 14:34

Chorus 1: We built this country, we built this country on God alone; Built this country, we built this country on God alone!

Verse 1: Say you don't know me or recognize my face
Say you don't care or know from whence came this place
Knee-deep in brouhaha, "Have not begun to fight"
Through Washington's armies, securing us our rights

Pre-Chorus 1: Monroe, he gave the Doctrine- listen to the men of old
Don't you remember? We built this country, we built this country on God alone!

Chorus 2: We built this country, it's on the money- in God alone! Built this country, we built this country on God alone!

Verse 2: Someone always playing revisionistic games
Truth scares- they're always changing historic claims of faith
Are we just going to stand here? Someone stole God's place
They call us all intolerable, write us off the page

Pre-Chorus 2: John Jay, he says November, Christians are the way to vote
Don't you remember? We built this country, we built this country on God alone!

(Repeat Chorus 2)

Verse 3: I'm just another Fundie in a tired old suit
Atheists got the choke hold (Ohhh!) But we've just got to speak!

We count our money and our sacred honor
Our lives all resting on the God of our fathers
Declaring dependence, 'cause we're of Plymouth roots
Looking for America- Creator gives these truths

(Spoken): "I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine Interposition in their affairs than those of the United States"

Don't you remember? (Remember)

(Spoken): I should be pained to believe they've forgotten the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them...."Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"

Pre-Chorus 3: Proverbs 33 in 3rd. chapter, Listen to God's Holy Word
Don't you remember? We built this country, we built this country on God alone!

(Repeat Chorus 2)
Built this country, (Ohhh!) We built this country on God alone!
Built this country, we built this country on God alone!

(We built, we built this country)
Built this country (we built, we built this country)
(Repeat until fade) x7
[Interchange with "Rebuild, Rebuild this country"]
(Fade on- "Rebuild this country on God alone!")



.........................................................................

Okay- there you go. And here's the cool music video to watch and sync up with on Youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFtW0WKT0Tw

And here's the cool midi to sing along with!!! http://www.midmninfo.com/mobile/midikaraoke/builtthiscity.mid

Red, White and True Blue

Happy Independence Day!!! J

A few Muppet tributes to a great country- America!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BqqYaEM2mA
(“America The Beautiful” by Fozzie Bear J)

and

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDA9NbPAK8o
(“Stars and Stripes Forever” by Animal, Swedish Chef, Beaker, chickens, a penguin, Bobo the Bear- and of course, Sam the American Eagle!)

and

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAVpj_Vo7zk
(The Muppets re-enact the Continental Congress- with some Sesame Street Muppets too! J)

As William Bradford said in “Of Plymouth Plantation”-

The one side [the Reformers] laboured to have ye right worship of God & discipline of Christ established in ye church, according to ye simplicitie of ye gospell, without the mixture of mens inventions, and to have & to be ruled by ye laws of Gods word, dispensed in those offices, & by those officers of Pastors, Teachers, & Elders, &c. according to ye Scripturs.

All great & honourable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enterprised and overcome with answerable courages. It was granted ye dangers were great, but not desperate; the difficulties were many, but not invincible. For though there were many of them likely, yet they were not cartaine; it might be sundrie of ye things feared might never befale; others by providente care & ye use of good means, might in a great measure be prevented; and all of them, through ye help of God, by fortitude and patience, might either be borne, or overcome.

………………………………………….And as our founding fathers said 238 years ago today-

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

………………….We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

And as we said 227 years ago-

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

And as The Lord inspired David and Solomon to write in ancient days (somewhere from 1000 to 900 something BC):

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Psalms 33:12)

The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. (Proverbs 3:33)

Amen. May America be such a nation.
God bless you in your celebrations on the 4^th. of July and God bless America! J
(And God bless all the world too. :-))