Happy 236th Birthday, America!
A brief history lesson: On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to approve a complete separation from Great Britain. Two days afterwards – July 4th – the early draft of the Declaration of Independence was signed, albeit by only two individuals at that time: John Hancock, President of Congress, and Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress. Four days later, on July 8, members of Congress took that document and read it aloud from the steps of Independence Hall, proclaiming it to the city of Philadelphia, after which the Liberty Bell was rung. The inscription around the top of that bell, Leviticus 25:10, was most appropriate for the occasion: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.”
Take a few minutes to read the Declaration of Independence.
On June 30, 1788, after the ratification of the Constitution, George Washington wrote these words in a letter to Benjamin Lincoln: “No Country upon Earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings . . . Much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to neglect the means and depart from the road which Providence has pointed us to, so plainly; I cannot believe it will ever come to pass. The Great Governor of the Universe has led us too long and too far . . . to forsake us in the midst of it . . . We may, now and then, get bewildered; but I hope and trust that there is good sense and virtue enough left to recover the right path.”
There is no doubt that we, as a nation, have gotten ‘bewildered.” Are there enough with “good sense and virtue” who can help us “recover the right path?”
This Fourth of July as we celebrate the 236th birthday of this great nation, let’s not forget the real history of America and the Christian roots upon which she was founded — too many are trying to rewrite history and obliterate God’s hand in her founding. Pray for America as we celebrate her birthday today.
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