National Day of Prayer - It's Constitutional

(This morning, I'm going to hand over the devotional to Benjamin Franklin and let him show you why the Circuit Judge who ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional is so wrong and out of touch with our history)

A Call to Prayer : Benjamin Franklin

When, after the representatives who had met in 1787 to write the Constitution of the United States struggled for several weeks making little or no progress, eighty-one-year-old Benjamin Franklin rose and addressed the troubled and disagreeing convention that was about to adjourn in confusion. It seemed that their attempt to form a lasting union had apparently failed.

Benjamin Franklin said, "In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard and they were graciously answered All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor....And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?"

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: 'that God governs in the affairs of man.' And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this."

"I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little partial local interest; our projects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war or conquest. I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business."

Benjamin Franklin then proposed that the Congress adjourn for two days to seek divine guidance. When they returned they began each of their sessions with prayer. The stirring speech of Benjamin Franklin marked a turning point in the writing of the Constitution, complete with a Bill of Rights.

The First Prayer offered in Congress

"Lord our Heavenly Father, High and Mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these our American States, who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle! Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst Thy people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. all this we ask In the Name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.

Amen."                                     

September 7th, 1774 by Jacob Duche in Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia

Early Weekend Devotional: Church in a State

I am very disappointed and greatly concerned over some Christians who are letting their fears and anxieties about next week’s election extinguish their rationality and diminish their faith. The demonizing of the candidates on both sides has revealed the ugliness of prejudice and the great amount of ignorance that still persists in the hearts and minds of our people. I am ashamed that Christian people, who should know better, are allowing the devil to prey on their fears and overturn their faith so quickly.

Romans 13:6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing.

I’ve read some alarming emails and blogs from Christians on both sides of the political realm, who are absolutely hostile to the other camp. Their hatred is spewed out venomously and in doing so, they actually deny their faith. Isn’t it Jesus who said love your enemies? Wasn’t it Paul who wrote that the authorities are God’s servants?

Perhaps the day after the election, on November 5, we should all get down on our knees and ask God to forgive us for being so spiteful, unrelenting, and unchristian. We represent Christ all of the time, if we call ourselves Christians, so when we diabolically demonize our opponents, we are not only guilty of slanderous gossip and character assassination, we are letting ourselves becomes the pawns of Satan. That’s something that we should never allow to happen, no matter how passionate we feel about our politics.

It will be part of my Christian duty to pray each day for the new President, whether or not I voted for him. As a Presbyterian, I firmly believe in predestination, so whoever the people choose, God has already decided that person will lead our nation. And no matter what policies the next President tries to push through or accomplish, my duty is still the same: I will pray for him as God’s chosen servant. I may disagree with politics and politicians, but I try never to disagree with God’s choices.

Perhaps this devotional has angered you. Maybe you feel as if you’ve been rebuked. If so, then look into your heart and ask yourself this question: have I allowed my political passion to override my faith?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes You must despair about how Your Church expresses its political views. Remind us that we are called to be peacemakers and servants, encouragers and disciples, citizens of heaven, as well as earth. Keep us from being hateful, proud, and alarmist. Remind us that God is always in control. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart (aka Stushie) is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Religious Art: Christ of the Polls

Christ does not belong to any of the parties...



...and only He can bring the donkey and the elephant together.

Wednesday Chuckle: Keeping the Faith

I couldn't resist drawing this after listening to Obama and reading the CNN National poll....




Please feel free to copy onto your own blogs...


www.stushietoon.blogspot.com

Religious News: Pray Today - Pass Tomorrow?

So long as students have to take exams, there will always be prayer in our schools. But how effective are those prayers? And what if a special written prayer could reduce stress, bring calmness, and help a student focus during the hours of an exam? Would it help the student to pass the test?

The Church of England has come with a novel idea of internet prayers for high school, college, and university students to recite before they enter exam rooms. The prayers are also available for teachers who tend to worry about their students during exams. After all, the outcome of the final grades is also used to measure the effectiveness of a teacher’s ability.

The Rev Janina Ainsworth, chief education officer for the Church of England has stated that the prayers were initially written for student gatherings or school assemblies. With a little tweaking, the prayers could be altered to suit an individual’s needs.

Leaving prayer to the last minute is more like wishful thinking, but taking time to sit down and really pray may help stressed out students calm down and give themselves a better opportunity of making their grades. The peace that passes all understanding may soon become the peace that passes every testing.

The prayers can be found at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers

Holy Week 2008

I know I shouldn't, but...



Somehow, I think we've seen this all before...

Stushie is a Presbyterian pastor and draws political cartoons at his Pushing the Envelope blogsite