Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God….
You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5: 9, 14, 16 (ESV)“Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him…‘If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’”
II Chronicles 7: 12a, 14 (ESV)“While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, as we raise our voices in a solemn prayer…
God Bless America, Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her, Thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam…God bless America, My home sweet home.”
Irving Berlin
The nation Irving Berlin wrote about was established 247 years ago as we celebrate again her birth tomorrow on July 4, 2023.
A song written as a prayer, asking God to stand by and guide America through the night with His Light from above.
That Light, a torch of freedom for our nation, has been passed on through the centuries and handed to us today. A light, reminding us of who we are, as we pause tomorrow and this week, to remember as we celebrate the birth of this nation.
A nation with those who champion our country, and those who criticize it. Choosing either to see the greatness in the genius of its foundation, or to see flaws.
Yet there are those of us who while choosing to embrace our greatness, continue to work with other like minds and hearts to improve our nation, standing together to celebrate an even better nation always aligned with, and under God’s watch.
It was the determined and loving way Martin Luther King, Jr, as a light and peacemaker, embraced this nation’s greatness, while seeking to make it better.
It may be what he is calling us to do today. Encouraging us to move past the vitriol and divisiveness of hate, spawned by various groups and individuals.
It is what he would do today as he continued to walk out his dream which he believed was rooted in the God-ordained foundations of our beginnings. A dream he shared on April 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, which in part reads—
“I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream…
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today…
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”
Brotherhood. Unified, guided and directed by God. He always had an eye and heart, aligned with God and His Word, to work and stand together for the good of America and all its citizens.
There are times when we should be drawn back together. Times to stand up together for America with God.
Now is one of those times.
Under the watchful eye and Light of God, embracing the greatness of this God-ordained nation, then, standing for America again under God’s wisdom, guidance, and direction, working together to make it even better.
God stands ready.
In His Name–Scott
Enjoy this video and song of “America the Beautiful” by Willie Nelson and many, many of his recognizable friends calling us together, again.
