Dear Partner,
What a wonderful time of year! Picnics, families getting together—it’s the Fourth of July. Freedom Day!
Let’s open our Bibles to Genesis 17:1:
- And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, The LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
The day was April 30, 1789. It was a day of making covenant with Almighty God for the United States of America. A proclamation was made for the sacred gathering at Federal Hall. “Come and see your president take his oath and pray that God will accept this land as His.”
At 9 a.m., the bells rang throughout the city. Washington took his official oath of office in New York City. He laid His hand on the Bible (and not just merely upon his Bible—he specifically opened it up and laid his hand upon the covenant God had made with Abraham in the book of Genesis.) Then, lifting his other arm upward toward heaven, Washington made a vow to lead our nation and honor the GOD of ISRAEL and His Covenant.
After Washington invoked his oath and covenant and sealed it with, “So help me God,” he bowed his knee to the ground in reverence and kissed the Bible. Afterward, Washington called the senators and newly elected officials to join him, as they walked arm-in-arm down the streets of New York City to St. Paul’s Chapel. There, they bowed together and prayed. They dedicated this land, our beloved America, to God! The day that George Washington was inaugurated was the day that covenant was Invoked. AMERICA BELONGED TO GOD ALMIGHTY!
So the first act of Congress was to make covenant with Almighty God. Remember now, first covenants count, so the United States is based solidly upon our covenant with the God of the universe, Creator of heaven and earth!
Well, all of that is just magnificent! But the party is OVER. Matthew 24:6 says, “Wars and rumours of wars.” So the most powerful nation the world has ever seen is sitting between two oceans—the Atlantic and the Pacific. President Washington designed the American flag with 13 stars for the 13 colonies.
Well, the party is OVER, but verse 6 says:
- And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
World War I was A WORLD WAR, involving more than 30 nations. Then, just a few years later began World War II, the deadliest war in human history, with more than 50 nations involved and nearly 15 million military casualties, and over 38 million civilian casualties. Remember now, this nation belongs to Almighty GOD! Prayer groups formed all over this country as well as in the United Kingdom and France. My birth year was 1936, so I remember things about World War II. And now that I’m 87 years old, I am a witness to all subsequent wars since then. BUT GOD! Psalm 144:1 says, “BLESSED be The LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”
So what’s the bottom line? America seems to be in trouble, and she is. Israel is at war now. But, wars have never stopped since Genesis 14:1-17:
- And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
- And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale
Despite wars and rumors of war, never, ever lose heart! You and I are followers of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whose we are and whom we serve! Psalm 103 says:
- BLESS The LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, BLESS his holy name. BLESS The LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
- Like as a father pitieth his children, so The LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of The LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. BLESS The LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his WORD. BLESS ye The LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. BLESS The LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: BLESS The LORD, O my soul.
Then, Isaiah 53:1-5 says:
- Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of The LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Now go to Luke 4:1-14:
- And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship The LORD thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt The LORD thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
Then, Ephesians 6:10-18 says:
- Finally, my brethren, be strong in The LORD, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you [No one can do it for you!] the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is The WORD of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Remember, you and I don’t live by bread alone. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Now look at 1 Corinthians 11:23: “For I have received of The LORD that which also I delivered unto you, that The LORD Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread….”
READ THE BACK OF THE BOOK. WE WIN! When you sow your BLESSING SEED this month, always remember that God Loves you, we Love you, and Jesus is LORD!
Love,
