Soon it will be time to get out the fireworks, set your lawn chair alongside the road and wait for the parade to pass by. The Fourth of July is just a few days off. This year we celebrate 250 years of flag waving and patriotism. It seems only yesterday that we’d decorate our bicycles with red, white and blue crepe paper and wear the colors. Our hearts would swell with pride when the flag was displayed.

I know that God has been a part of our country since its inception. The nation was not founded upon one specific religion, but God certainly is mentioned a lot in the early historical documents   Christian men signed the Declaration of Independence which begins with this sentence penned by Thomas Jefferson:

“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.”

This set the precedent for the “American Dream.” It nurtured the notion that success comes from hard work, the sweat of the brow and tears of disappointment – but it also contains the notion of never giving up. Somehow, over America’s short history, that dream has turned into a nightmare.   We are a nation of many people – from many nations –from different governments, different cultures, different backgrounds – but with the same hopes for a new start in the land that offers so much to so many.

Things have changed over time. We’ve become less patriotic. We seek our own desires. We are not always united. We don’t respect our flag like we used to. A resurge in those areas is much needed if we are to continue as a nation for another 250 years.

We all crave freedom. We want the comfort of not living in fear. We desire the security of protection. We long for the hope of peace and contentment. We need to rekindle the pride that our founders had when they signed that amazing document. Our nation is worth so much to us as Americans. There is no other country on earth that allows so much freedom.

As we approach this National Day of Celebration, we should do as John Adams suggested many years ago.

“…It ought to be commemorated as a day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bell, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”

The signers of that document set a precedent that has lived for a long time. Those who have fought for our country have shed their blood for her. She is worth the fight. Thank God for allowing us to flourish and may He continue to bless our nation and restore our honor for her.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN. KEEP HER SAFE FROM DISSENT, TYRANNY AND DESTRUCTION. WE CALL ON YOUR NAME TO LEAD US. AMEN!