SEARCHLIGHT
What can you do to influence your fellow citizens to turn to God and trust Him the way our Founding Fathers desired?
SCRIPTURE
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1,2 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
People debate about how the United States has become a world leader. What has caused the USA to be so creative, strong, and productive? Let me identify something that is often overlooked. Few people today would recognize that one reason why the United States has become prosperous, as well as a world influence is because the Republic was founded on Christian principles.
“IN GOD WE TRUST” is the United States motto. It first appeared in 1864 on the two-cent coin, and then, since 1938, on all US coins. In 1956, a joint resolution of Congress established “In God We Trust” as the national motto of the United States. In the following year, it first appeared on paper money. Although no Bible verse was cited along with the motto,
Psalm 91:1,2 provides the foundation for the four short confident words. The Psalmist personally testified to trusting Almighty God to be his shelter, rest, refuge, and fortress as seen in the above Scripture section. The New Life Version translates these two verses this way: “He who lives in the safe place of the Most High will be in the shadow of the All-powerful. I will say to the Lord, ‘You are my safe and strong place, my God, in Whom I trust.’” The people who wanted to establish the “land of the free” looked to God to ordain and bless what they were doing.
Take a tour of one of the most important buildings in our country. As you walk to the entrance of the United States Supreme Court, you will see near the top of the building carved faces of the world’s law givers. Each one has eyes on the middle face which is the only one with a full-frontal view. The carved face is Moses, who is holding the Ten Commandments. Upon entering the courtroom of the Supreme Court, the two large doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on the lower portion of each door. As you sit in the courtroom, you will notice a display of the Ten Commandments just above where the judges sit. As you walk by the Federal Building or monuments, throughout the Capital, Bible verses are etched in stone on these structures.
Long before any of these buildings were constructed, the Founding Fathers had clearly voiced their convictions about the importance of trusting God to build a great, free nation. They knew that they needed God to bless the young fledgling nation if it was going to succeed. Just listen to their words. George Washington said,“It is impossible rightly to govern the world without God and the Bible.” James Madison was the fourth President and was also known as “The Father of Our Constitution.” He said, “We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the 10 Commandments of God.” Patrick Henry said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Out of the 55 founders of the constitution, 52 of them were affiliated with orthodox churches in the Thirteen Colonies. Thomas Jefferson expressed worry about the Court system overstepping its authority by making the law rather than interpreting it. He considered this to be the rule of few over many.
It is time for citizens to get back to their roots. Since 1777, every session of Congress has begun with prayer by a minister whose salary has been paid by the taxpayers of this nation. Isn’t it time for every taxpayer to begin to pray for their nation? The Apostle Paul exhorted this in 1 Timothy 2:1-4. Don’t forget 2 Chronicles 7:14. The Bible makes it so crystal clear when it says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in rulers. [Psalm 118:8,9 New Living Version]
SOMETHING TO DO
Check out Psalm 56:4, Jeremiah 17:7; 29:7 and 2 Corinthians 1:10.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I am so blessed to be a citizen of this great nation. I acknowledge that the United States has become so powerful and prosperous because You have chosen to bless it. Forgive us for failing to recognize that American ingenuity and creativity has been given by You. I pray that You would bring our nation back to its roots. Send a spiritual awakening that will cause people once again to give thanks to You, our Creator, Protector, Sustainer, and Savior. AMEN!