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The power and beauty of the blessed hope is rarely more prominent than when one buries his dead. Ecclesiastes 7:2:
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
The sorrow in the passing of a born-again loved one is at times overpowering, but for the blood-bought there is a very dominant promise that turns tears into laughter. Consider God's Word: John 11:25-26:
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
God advertises the beauty of the eternal promise in Revelation 21:1-5:
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Such powerful words of promise are reiterated in I Corinthians 15:53-57:
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
These promises are for the born-again. Have you been born again? Do you participate in the blessed hope? If not, surely you can do it now. Today all your sin and shame can be erased from your record. Today you can become a new creature — born-again — quickened by the Spirit of God. Click onto "Further With Jesus" for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY'S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Deuteronomy 4:5-10:
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
MAN SAID: This is not a Christian nation. It was founded by deists and agnostics. We must rally behind the concept of the separation of church and state, and remove all symbols of Jesus Christ.
Now THE RECORD. Is America a Christian nation? Satan and his minions have been busy attempting to expunge the historic record of any Christian root. The politically-correct historical-revisionists have been busy rewriting history to deny and/or discredit any Christian American roots. The ungodly have been busy defaming the good handiwork of God and stealing His glory. Organizations such as the ACLU, grouped with liberal media, liberal academia, liberal politicians, and liberal judges, have joined together in an anti-Christ movement. Hiding behind the oft espouted false rhetoric of separation of church and state and its like; they have succeeded in getting prayer and the reading of the Bible out of our public schools. They have succeeded in blocking the name of Jesus Christ at graduation commencements and any other public forum, claiming the American Constitution forbids it. At the time of this writing, the anti-Christ movement has challenged the words "Under God" in the American Pledge of Allegiance. The Cross of Jesus is being removed from the logo of the City of Los Angeles.
To the shock and dismay of Americans, President Barack Obama, who began his presidency in January of 2009, announced to the world that America was not a Christian nation.
This feature will pick up several excerpts from GodSaidManSaid features that establish the Christian bona fides of the United States of America and the whole western hemisphere. At the end of this feature we will list all related articles as well as all references. Is America a Christian nation?
In a book titled The Light and the Glory, by P. Marshall and D. Manuel, the following information was found:
The following passage was taken from Columbus's journal:
It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel his hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures....
I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence. For the execution of the journey to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied....
No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Saviour, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service. [End of quote]
According to Columbus, the Americas were discovered in Jesus' name.
King James VI of Scotland, who was also King James I of England, was the founding monarch of the United States. During his reign, the first successful colonies in America were established. The King himself authorized and wrote the charter to settle the Colony of Virginia. The charter was titled "The Evangelistic Grant Charter." Part of the charter written in 1606 follows:
"To make habitation...and to deduce a colony of sundry of our people into that part of America, commonly called Virginia...in propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness...to bring a settled and quiet government." [End of quote]
Pilgrim pastor John Robinson wrote the following letter in 1620 to the Mayflower pilgrims:
Thus this holy army of saints is marshaled here on earth by these officers, under the conduct of their glorious Emperor, Christ. Thus it marches in this most heavenly order and gracious array, against all enemies, both bodily and ghostly: peaceable in itself, as Jerusalem, terrible too the enemy as an army with banners, triumphing over their tyranny with patience, their cruelty with meekness and over death itself with dying.
Thus, through the Blood of that spotless Lamb, and that Word of their testimony, they are more than conquerors, bruising the head of the Serpent; yea, through the power of His Word, they have power to cast down Satan like lightning; to tread upon serpents and scorpions; to cast down strongholds, and everything that exalteth itself against God. [End of quote]
The provisional government of Connecticut, instituted in 1638 and 1639, began with the following declaration:
And well knowing where a people are gathered together, the Word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union...there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God...to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess...of the said Gospel [which] is now practiced among us. [End of quote]
One hundred twenty-three of America's first 126 colleges were founded on Jesus Christ. Princeton University, founded in 1746, originally called "The College of New Jersey," was headed up by Reverend Jonathan Dickinson who said, "Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ." [End of quote] The Americas were discovered in Jesus' name. The United States was colonized in Jesus' name. Here, governments were established in Jesus' name, and America's people were educated in Jesus' name. The glorious blessings of God have been bestowed upon this land because of, and in, Jesus' name.
In 1785, James Madison, known as the father of the U.S. Constitution and the fourth President of the United States, wrote:
We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.
Madison also wrote concerning Christ:
Christ's Divinity appears by St. John, chapter 20, verse 28: 'And Thomas answered and said unto Him, my Lord and my God:' Resurrection testified to and witnessed by the Apostles, Acts 4, verse 33: 'And with great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.'
In the year 1787 Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, which established the regulations by which territories northwest of the Ohio River could be incorporated into the United States. One heavy focus was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Native American peoples. Section 14 of the Northwest Ordinance, Article III, says:
Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.
In an effort to expunge the record of our Lord Jesus Christ, some often lift up Thomas Jefferson as their secularist poster child. Thomas Jefferson, while President of the United States, said:
No nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has ever been given to man and I as chief Magistrate of this nation am bound to give it the sanction of my example.
In March of 1801, Jefferson wrote:
The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its Benevolent Institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.
In April of 1803, Jefferson wrote the following to fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Benjamin Rush:
My views...are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others...
John Adams was vice president under President George Washington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress, and the second president of the United States. He was a great lover of the Word of God and the King of Glory. He wrote these telling words in February of 1756:
Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love and reverence toward Almighty God...What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.
In his Last Will and Testament, Samuel Adams, cousin to John Adams and organizer of the Boston Tea Party, said:
Principally, and first of all, I resign my soul to the Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust, relying on the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of my sins.
Although Ben Franklin was not an Evangelical Christian, by his own mouth he was a confessor of Christ. Benjamin Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. He also served as governor of Pennsylvania. In March of 1778, Franklin wrote the following to the Ministry of France:
Whoever shall introduce into public affairs the principals of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.
Franklin also said:
A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district — all studied and appreciated as they merit — are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty.
In a pamphlet titled "Information to Those Who Would Remove to America," which was written for Europeans considering moving to America, Franklin wrote:
Atheism is unknown there; infidelity rare and secret; so that persons may live to a great age in that country without having their piety shocked by meeting with either an Atheist or an Infidel.
The suggestion by some that George Washington, our founding father, was anything other than a Christian is blatant falsehood. Regardless of what the revisionists attempt to read into history, the pen of George Washington clearly testifies of his powerful confession of Jesus Christ. An example is our first president's personal prayer book in which he wrote, by his own hand, his daily prayers: one in the morning and one in the evening. Part of his Monday morning and evening prayers follow:
MONDAY MORNING...O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before Thy Divine Majesty, beseeching Thee to accept my humble and hearty thanks...direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit...Daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in Thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life. Bless my family, friends and kindred, and unite us all in praising and glorifying Thee in all our works.
MONDAY EVENING...Most Gracious Lord God, from whom proceedeth every good and perfect gift, I offer to Thy Divine Majesty my unfeigned praise and thanksgiving for all Thy mercies towards me...I have sinned and done very wickedly, be merciful to me, O God, and pardon me for Jesus Christ's sake...Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me; and hast given me assurance of salvation, upon my repentance and sincerely endeavoring to conform my life to His holy precepts and example...
Bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ...I beseech Thee to defend me this night from all evil, and so more for me than I can think or ask, for Jesus Christ's sake, in whose most Holy Name and Words, I continue to pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.... [End of quote]
That was Monday's prayer.
President Abraham Lincoln, in a September 5th, 1864, speech to the Committee of Colored People said:
In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for this Book we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it. To you I return my most sincere thanks for the elegant copy of the great Book of God which you present.
Alexis De Tocqueville, the famous French statesman and historian, traveled America in the 1830s to discover her greatness. A few of his observations follow:
In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious...there is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.
In the United States, the influence of religion is not confined to the manners, but it extends to the intelligence of the people...
Christianity, therefore, reigns without obstacle, by universal consent...
I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...; in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution.
Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.
Again, De Tocqueville describes a court case that took place in New York. He writes:
While I was in America, a witness, who happened to be called at the assizes of the county of Chester (state of New York), declared that he did not believe in the existence of God or in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed beforehand all confidence of the court in what he was about to say. The newspapers related the fact without any further comment. The New York Spectator of August 23rd, 1831 relates the fact in the following terms:
"The court of common pleas of Chester county (New York), a few days since rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding judge remarked, that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of justice: and that he knew of no case in a Christian country, where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief." [End of quote]
Is America a Christian nation? This country used the Bible as a textbook in its classrooms. It was read aloud daily at the beginning of each school day until the 1960s. God's Word is plastered and carved in stone all over our government buildings and even on the money we handle daily. The signature of Jesus Christ is abundantly clear. But to Satan's deniers, consider America's everyday speech. An interesting list of phrases follows, taken from a book by MacGregor and Prys. The phrases, which are found in the Bible, permeate our everyday conversation. A short list follows:
"Raising Cain" means to act with abandonment or wildly. As a phrase, it is most likely descended from the Genesis character Cain who killed his brother, Abel.
"Jezebel" or "Delilah" is the name often given to a woman of cunning and deceit. Both Bible characters were beautiful, though calculating in nature.
"The salt of the earth." Many of the words we use in our culture come from the Lord Jesus. In describing his disciples with these words in Matthew 5:13.
"The blind leading the blind." Jesus coined this phrase in Matthew 15:14 when describing false teachers who insist they know the truth but do not, therefore leading innocent people astray.
“Eat, drink, and be merry" was a phrase created by Jesus in Luke 12 while telling a cautionary tale about a rich fool who thought the rest of his life was set. The fool died that very night.
"The straight and narrow." Following the small, less-traveled path leads to the narrow gate of life.
"Sweating blood" is a phrase used to describe someone going through a very difficult time. The etymology of the word relates back to Luke 22:44 , when Christ's anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane caused him to sweat blood.
"The forbidden fruit" ...The original "forbidden fruit" was the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve were instructed to stay away from it (Genesis 2:17), but when the Serpent tempted them to eat of it, the couple disobeyed God and chose to sin.
"Taking a sabbatical" comes from the old Jewish notion of "taking time off." Leviticus 25 commands the people to allow the ground to lie fallow every seventh year in order to refresh itself—an action that was referred to as the "sabbatical year."
"An eye for an eye" is a phrase that first appears in Leviticus 24:20.
"A fly in the ointment" is a phrase commonly used to describe something that has gone wrong with a system or procedure. It comes from Ecclesiastes 10:1.
"A drop in the bucket." Generally used to refer to "a small amount" or "a meaningless portion," the words are lifted in their entirety from Isaiah 40:15, in which we are told that to the Lord "the nations are a drop in the bucket."
"The skin of our teeth." Generally used to mean "just barely," the imagery comes from Job 19:20.
"The handwriting on the wall" is a phrase that comes from Daniel chapter 5. The carnal King Belshazzar had seen a hand appear and write a mysterious message. Calling upon Daniel to interpret the message, the king learned that God had weighed Belshazzar on an eternal scale and found him wanting. His kingdom was to be taken away that very night.
"The powers that be," ...The phrase was used by the apostle Paul in Romans 13:1 when, as the King James Version reads, he noted, "the powers that be are ordained of God."
"A thorn in the side." The apostle Paul first used this phrase in 2 Corinthians 12:7 to describe some sort of physical ailment. [End of quote]
America is a nation founded upon the Rock of Christ Jesus, but sinners are continuing their diabolical efforts to expunge the record. Unfortunately for this nation, they are having considerable success. If there is time left, we can push back the darkness and plant the cross of Christ most dominantly upon this land once again.
Because the leadership of this nation has cast off Jesus Christ, America is falling down quickly across all spectrums of our structure. Without repentance and turning back to Jesus Christ the curse shall abound.
In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 God spoke to the nation of Israel and promised glorious blessings, but in verse 15, He left this caution:
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
The next 53 verses outline the devastating curses.
Israel obeyed God's Word for a period of time, but eventually cast it off. They finally were disbanded as a nation and scattered to the four corners of the earth. Samuel Clemens toured Israel in 1867 and had this to say about the nation that was once Israel:
"Nowhere in all the waste around was there a foot of shade." He said it was a "blistering, naked, treeless land." When speaking of Galilee, Clemens said, "There is no dew, nor flowers, nor birds, nor trees. There is a plain and an unshaded lake, and beyond them some barren mountains....Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are unpicturesque in shape. It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land. [End of quote]
America should keep in mind that God is no respecter of persons.
Now Israel, after 2,000 years, is back on the map to play a central role in the end of the world as we know it. The time is short.
GOD SAID, Deuteronomy 4:5-10:
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
MAN SAID: This is not a Christian nation. It was founded by deists and agnostics. We must rally behind the concept of the separation of church and state, and remove all symbols of Jesus Christ.
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
Authorized King James Version
George Washington, Writings (1932), Quoted in David Barton's Original Intent, the Courts, the Constitution, & Religion, Wallbuilder Press, 1996, p168
Limbaugh, D., Persecution, Regnery Publishing, 2003
MacGregor, J., and M. Prys, 1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About the Bible, Fall River Press, 2002, pp36-41
Marshall, P., D. Manuel, The Light and the Glory, Revell, 1977
"One Nation Under God," Christian Defense Fund, 1997
Twain, M., The Innocents Abroad, American Publishing Co., 1869, pp486-487,606
