Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
America’s patriotic National Anthem is the Star-Spangled Banner by Frances Scott Key during the War of 1812. The first stanza says: “O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight Over the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? “
What is lesser known though, is the fourth and final stanza, which says: “O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand. Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace may the Heaven rescued land. Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto - "In God is our trust," And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
It is dishonest and malicious when atheist historical revisionists lie about the Christian foundations of this nation. The battle between belief in God and unbelief is explained by the Lord of all Jesus Christ in John 3:19-20 stating, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. Evil and hate are strong words, but articulate the truth of the issue. Sinners hate God for God defines what sin is and all sin is against God. Likewise, the God-rejecting world hates Jesus Christ [the Light of the world] because they loved the darkness of sin and unbelief, which the Lord exposes, the Holy Spirit convicts and through repentance, belief and born-again conversion sanctifies and transforms from spiritual death to eternal life. In who is your trust?
2 Peter 3:9 declares, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” The Lord Jesus tells us in John 15:17-19 “This is my command: Love each other. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” I get it. It is more than intolerance of the unbeliever; it’s a cause and agenda, rooted in evil that blindly proclaims the God is not is not real, does not exist, did not create and sustain all things, and has no sovereign rules over nature and the affairs of the world. Darkness wants to extinguish the light of truth by silencing all opposing arguments, no matter where the evidence points. But, their battle is truly with the Lord.
The people of faith, the children of God and the followers of Jesus are called to be salt and light in the world, commissioned to compassionately go make disciples of all nations, to know God and make Him known. Redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness and salvation are the goal. It’s is the Holy Spirit that prepares and transforms the heart.
Romans 10:14-15 instructs Believers: How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
In God is our trust; that’s the plan.
In Christ, Brian
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