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
26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27
Meditation:
God Bless America
God (continues to) Bless America! July Fourth in the year of our Lord, always. Some might say this nation is in a mess, that we’re on the verge of total collapse. I don’t agree with that in anyway. I believe that God is in charge, His plan is perfect. We may not like the pain that we are going through as we follow His will, but His plan remains perfect.
Cost of Discipleship — I embrace the idea that true discipleship has a cost. Too often we focus only on the glory, only on the blessings, only on the feel-good parts, while ignoring the road of following Christ is sometimes rocky and dangerous. We tend to forget that we carry a cross when we follow the Messiah, our Lord and Savior. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote the book that carries the title, The Cost of Discipleship. This is what he have says about the cost of being Christ’s disciple:
“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 the master, never to Christ and the law, never to Christ and religion, 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 rest holy 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 of the willingness to bear reproach for His name’s sake. If people revile us for being Christians, we, in turn, must bless them. Have you tried that? It’s not easy!
You know this state of discipleship does not come to us, in a flash of a ‘born-again’ emotion, or an altar call. It is a process in which we 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 our death to self, we are not on the path of the 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 Master and Savior, then He is our Master and Savior. We should all take abiding confidence in the knowledge that we are truly His. We are children of God, and our future as guaranteed.
And guess what? God Blesses America, in the past, in the present and into the future. Period. Thanks, be to God. Amen.
Patriotic puns and smile makers:
What do you call a duck that likes to celebrate Independence Day? A fire-quacker.
What would you get if you crossed George Washington with cattle feed? The Fodder of Our Country!
What did one flag say to the other flag? Nothing. They just waved.
What protest by a group of dogs occurred in 1772? The Boston Flea Party.
Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell? Yeah, it cracked me up!
True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what’s right.
True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.
Small “d” democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people, none are set apart. Did you catch that? None, no one, is set apart or excluded.
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. That’s just what makes it fun.
Three Morning Prayers for 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.
Heavenly Father, help us love the life we live right now. Show us the good things we often overlook and help us be content with what we have. Forgive us when we compare ourselves to others, forgive us for longing for things outside of You, Your will and Your kingdom. Thank You for loving us right where we are, just as we are. Help us keep our eyes on You. Amen.
Lord, we pray that You will Bless this country, wracked with dissension. Help us Lord, bring us back to that shinning city on a hill, that the world seeks to emulate. Help us to follow Your will in all ways. We ask all of this, Lord, in Your name, for it is In God We Trust. Amen.
