Today, the United States celebrates Independence Day. We do not celebrate the “4th of July.”
Every nation has a “4th of July.” Many nations have an “Independence Day.” But none have a Day of Independence as signficant as that of the United States of America.
We are an exceptional nation. It is not boasting to say that, it is fact.
We also run the risk of losing that exceptionalism if we do not guard it carefully.
When forming this country, our forefathers risked their very lives when they agreed to these words:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These words were words of revolution that led to a bloody battle that ultimately gained our independence from Great Britain.
And among these words, the phrase “endowed by their Creator.”
While I would stop short of saying that our forefathers intended to create a Christian nation I would say that the majorit of them recognized a sovereign God, and their writings reflect that.
America is a nation that has been blessed by God.
Throughout our history in times of good, and particularly in times of trouble, Americans have been called to prayer by their leaders. Whether it was FDR at the outset of WWII or George W. Bush in response to the 9/11 attacks, when we have needed God, we have turned to him. And He has been there.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. ~ Psalm 33:12
Is American the land of the people God chose for his inheritance? I don’t necessarily think so.
But there is no denying that we have been blessed, that God has been with us.
And, scream though they might, there is no denying that we are a nation founded on a deep belief in God and founded on Biblical principles, including the Ten Commandments that some would have us wipe from our memory.
Today we celebrate our freedom. Today we thank God for our freedom.
And we must guard that freedom closely as there are those within and without who would seek to take it away.
Don’t take that for granted. Get involved. Pay attention. Speak out. Defend your freedom.
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Today, the United States celebrates Independence Day. We do not celebrate the “4th of July.”
