WATCHWORD:
“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Meditation:
America and the Cross
As promised, here is a Watchword where we address the matter of the Cross of Christ. What about that Cross? We have often heard it said that following the way of Christ is not an easy path. The Cross of ‘Christ is about the cost of discipleship, and who wrote the book by that same title? Dietrich Bonhoeffer. What does he have to say about the cost, which is the cross we bear?
“The life of discipleship can only be maintained as long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves–neither the law, nor personal piety, nor even the world. The disciple always looks only to his master, never to Christ and the law; never to Christ and religion, and never to Christ and the world. He avoids all such notions like the plague. Only by following Christ alone can he preserve a single eye. His eye rests only on the light that comes from Christ, and has no darkness or ambiguity in it…thus the heart of the disciple must be set upon Christ alone…If the heart is devoted to the mirage of the world, to the creature instead of the creator, the disciple is lost.”
In the early years of Christianity, the cross was a symbol of discipleship. In reality, the cross was an implement of slow torturous death, and becoming a disciple means that our daily walk with Jesus was a process of daily death to selfish desires and the willingness to bear reproach for His name’s sake. If people revile us for being Christians, we, in turn, must bless them.
You know this state of discipleship does not come over us, in a flash of a ‘born-again’ emotion, or an altar call. It is a process in which we all must grow. If we blow it, and we do, we must confess it to the Lord and seek to be obedient next time we have an opportunity to suffer for him. But, if we aren’t involved in the process of carrying our own cross in death to self, we are not on the path of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
It’s a whole package, isn’t it? We follow Christ, because at one time or another in our life we were born again into the life of Christ. There are no shades or degrees of our belief. If He is our Lord and Savior, He is our Lord and Savior. As a disciple of Christ we cannot avoid reaching down and lifting up and carrying the Cross. It comes with the territory. We should all have confidence in the knowledge that we are His. That we are children of God, and our future as guaranteed. Thanks, be to God. Amen.
God Bless America:
True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.
Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people.
People tend to have forgotten what 4th of July really is about. Today commemorates the freedom we use every day. It’s not fireworks and parties, those things just what makes it fun.
Morning Prayers on this our Independence Day:
God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home sweet home. Amen.
God of justice and Lord of all, you guide all creation with fatherly care. On this Independence Day, we recall the day when our country claimed its place among the family of nations. You reveal that those who work for peace will be called your sons and daughters. Continue to send your Spirit to touch the hearts and minds of all who cherish the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And as you have called us to be one nation, grant that under your providence our country may share your blessings with all the peoples of the earth. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
