DEPENDENCE DAY!

Psalm 33:12-22
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth -15 He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all it great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.
22 May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in You.

We need to be a nation that declares that God is our Lord. This nation began that way, but everything happening in the political arena these days seems to lean toward getting God out of our country, and out of the public arena.

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 religion but on the gospel of Jesus Christ."

John Adams said, "We have no government armed with power able of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people...it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other..."

If we want to see America continue to be great like it has been in the past, we must see a revival of faith in God. We must stand up for independence from governmental tyranny, and declare our DEPENDENCE ON GOD!

Will you stand with me this 4th of July? As the Bible says in Romans 1:17, "for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

We must live our lives by faith, not in government or political leaders, not even in religion, but in God, through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. If we don't look to God for protection and guidance, our nation is headed down a spiral that will lead to our own destruction. It is not our enemies that will defeat us. The only way this nation "under God" can be defeated is if we turn our backs on God and trust in our own strength.

Celebrate July 4th with joy! Go to fireworks and fairs and have a great day. But I ask you to begin your day, and end your day on your knees praying for our nation, our President, and the church (the Body of Christ). Pray that we would all discover our true freedom comes only through dependence on God alone.

God bless, and have a great Dependence Day!
Roger

A NATIONAL PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

You may have read this prayer before. It was first used by Joe Wright the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS. On January 23, 1996 before the Kansas State House in Topeka, Kansas. It was originally written by Pastor Bob Russell of Southeast Christian Church of Louisville, KY. Later Paul Harvey read it on his radio program, and received more requests for copies of it than anything he had ever done.

Here is what he prayed:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that:
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it a choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your
will... Amen

May we continue to pray for our nation.

Roger

Recommended reading: 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 81:10-16

The Testimony of Hope

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." I Peter 3:15

"While there's life, there's hope." That's nice, but contrast that to, "It is not the fact of life that determines hope, but the faith of life." A Christian believer has a "living hope" (I Peter 1:3) because his faith and hope are in the Lord (I Peter 1:21). Or like I always like to say, "Whenever Jesus is involved, there's hope."

The uniqueness of the Christian faith is that believers put their hope in the God who made Himself known in history by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. Josh McDowell explains in Evidence That Demands a Verdict, "The evidence is overwhelming ... millions from all backgrounds, nationalities and professions have seen their lives elevated to new levels of peace and joy by turning their lives over to Christ ... regardless of place, time, environment or background."

As a believer, you will face crises, but with Jesus as Lord of your life, each crisis becomes an opportunity for witness. Behave with faith and hope and unbelievers will sit up and take notice. And, as Christianity is attacked more and more in this country, be steadfast. Passionately pray for the nation ... knowing God is the only hope.

Recommended Reading: Romans 8:31-39

A Thought for Today by Pastor Roger

Taken from the Vantage Point Daily Devotional provided by the Presidential Prayer Team. org.