Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “The Gift of Being Yourself”
Our Bible verse for today: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Celebrate God’s blessings.”
Today is the 4th of July. It’s the 243rd birt of our nation’s independence. By the standards of history we’re still a very young nation, but also by the standards of history we are the greatest nation that has ever existed. Our democratic republic, with its free-market economy, is the greatest and most successful social experiment ever. It’s why immigrants from around the world flock to our shores seeking a better life. Even hardcore communist nations like China and the old Soviet Union finally had to adopt some aspects of our model.
Without question our nation has been blessed by God, and also without question the reason God has blessed us so much is that our nation was founded on Biblical principles. For most of our history we as a people have honored our founding principles, and have kept them at the center of our civic life. That has never meant that all of our citizens had to be Christians, but it has meant that we as a people recognized that the principles articulated in the Bible are the most effective standards for governing human behavior. As a nation we need to make sure we don’t abandon those principles because if we do, we will surely lose God’s blessing.
There’s an application here with respect to our theme for this month of “The Gift of Being Yourself.” It’s no mistake that you are an American, living in this country at this time in history. God in His sovereignty and wisdom could have chosen for you to be born in any country, at any time in history. But He chose this country at this time for you.
Living here, now, is part of your God-given identity. I encourage you to embrace it and enjoy it. You don’t have to feel guilty about the affluence we have compared to others. This is all part of God’s blessings on our nation. But we do need to recognize that with the blessing comes responsibility. God didn’t allow us to have all of this just so we can keep it all to ourselves.
We are blessed so that we can bless. As a nation we are to use our strength and resources to protect the helpless and to help others to be free as well. We must oppose evil and promote righteousness. As individuals we are to be good citizens, and we are to be generous with those less fortunate than us. We have been blessed by God so we can in turn be a blessing to others.
The USA is truly a great nation – the greatest ever! You and I are blessed to be Americans. Make it a point today to celebrate our heritage and to thank God for the way He has blessed us.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 