National Day of Prayer

Today as we celebrate America’s 59th Recognized National Day of Prayer, we would be remiss not to understand the underpinnings of what this day holds in virtue of its past roots in the founding of this nation. Many have sought to deny the history of how integrated prayer and specifically Christianity is to the founding of this nation and the ongoing success of our nation. Over 200 hundred years ago on April 15, 1775, 14 months prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock penned these words to set aside a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer (which can be echoed even now):
“In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations.”

To recognize the correlation of when this day of prayer was proclaimed, we can see that when this day was set aside by President Harry Truman 59 years ago it was done so not based on any other precedence but historical accuracy in regards to the wishes, desires and love of Christ that those responsible for the birth of our freedoms held. Lest anyone think that I misspoke and said Christ and not “god” as in the plurality of other religions, understand that it was the same John Hancock and also John Adams that declared with unanimity that “We recognize no sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus.” It was also this same John Adams that proclaimed:
“The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

So on this nationally recognized, government sanctioned day that we humble ourselves and lift up a prayer to God, not a god, but The God proclaimed in the Bible, who sent His Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for us to have communion with, we will pray that this nation will rise above all nations. Not for the purpose of power and rule, but for the express purpose of protecting the innocent, improving the lives of men and providing justice for millions around the world who have no justice and no freedom. And we stand with Benjamin Franklin in declaring 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 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” –Constitutional Convention of 1787

May God Bless this nation, may our leaders be given wisdom from biblical precedent and lead with righteousness to protect our lives, our liberties and our pursuit of happiness, not with moral inequity, but righteous rule. Give our President the mind of Christ and may his counsel be Godly counsel. Give our congress a repentant heart and humility to defend the principles of freedoms while protecting our liberties through righteous legislation. May our courts be places of Justice and not deference to the depravity of man as they defend and uphold the true intent, context and meaning of the Constitution as written with intentionality to reflect biblical ideals. Let the media be purged of fractious divisions and fear mongering. Let the financial climate of our nation be healed from greed that has gripped our markets and let the people once again honor corporate America for the many benefits that they bring us in our daily lives. May the Christian liberties that we have been honored with since the founding of this nation not be halted, harassed and hailed anymore as a bigoted, racist, intolerant religion, but one that loves unconditionally, serves prolifically and honors the sanctity of life above all else as that which reflects the very life and character of God Almighty. Silence the factions within our ranks that seek only to divide and cause hatred and loathing for the things of God and let the righteous rise with the Spirit of power to:

“preach good news to the poor; bind up the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, open the prison to those who are bound; proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the vengeance of our God; comfort those that mourn; to give them beauty for ashes, gladness for mourning; a spirit of praise for despair; ……so that God might be Glorified, (then) they can rebuild….., restore….. and renew…… what has been devastated for generations!” (Isaiah 61:1-4)

God Bless America!
Pastor John Rodrigue
May 6, 2010

It's A Sin to Pray

No not literally, unless of course you break the law to do it. Of course as someone who understands spiritual reality, God's law trumps the national law anyway, so no its not a sin, to a Christian. Unfortunately to a growing minority in this country it is a sin though. It is a sin to ask for help, for guidance, for wisdom and for grace. Sounds kinda ridiculous doesn't it? Since when can asking for help be so bad? After all that is what one of the main tenets of prayer is.
Take the Lord's prayer for instance, "give us, forgive us, lead us not, deliver us." Lots of "us" in that prayer isn't there? Short to be sure, but powerful because it relied on God as the giver and not ourselves. This then bears weight with the intent of prayer, to keep ourselves humble in the eyes of God and to make sure that we understand we are not within ourselves able to have all the answers for life. Of course this offends many within our culture who decry any religious intonation within government circles at all in our country as noted in this recent article on NPR. But the thing that irks me is the total loss of the rationale behind prayer in the first place. The one thing that atheists tend to have in common, pride.
Too much pride to simply ask for help. To realize that we don't have all the answers to life and can't do it all for ourselves is akin to blasphemy for them. So what is so wrong with a government that can humbly ask for providence to guide them? To me this is the basic building block of any great government, humility. And of course the basic tenet to any great person as well. So fight prayer in the courts, fight it in the media, put your best boxing gloves on, but in reality all you are doing is throwing punches into thin air because humility beats pride any day.
National Day of Prayer Rules! Keep it Sanctioned in Government and Keep it national, public and humble. And for those who seek to thwart any understanding that Judeo-Christian values were deeply embedded in our nation, take a tour of Washington D.C. and tell me what you See!

Benefits of Resistance

My kids scrambled to get bibles this morning to take to school and I enjoyed listening to my 9 year old read the account of creation on his own volition and with excitement. I might have to rewind a bit and explain. Yesterday in his class they covered some views on evolution and mentioned that some believe we came from Adam and eve. To which my son and his friend without coaching defended the biblical account of creation. This makes a father proud! And it enlightened me to the idea that the resistance that we face in schools and society openly embracing and accepting the account of creation actually does us some good. My point to all this is that if there wouldn't have been some resistance or couching of other "opinions" my kids wouldn't have been scrambling to read Genesis on their own and wanting to find out the truth of what they believe. Have you ever tried to get one of your kids to do something because it was good for them? I didn't have to force them to find out, the fire that was in them was stoked because of this resistance and it brought out the best in them.
May it last and burn even brighter!

You often wonder why you experience trials in life and learn somewhere down the road that God let you experience it so that you can share it. With someone to give them hope. Everything you go through has a purpose and the quicker you learn this when you are in it, the easier it is to bear it.

I think God enjoys praise so much because He has to compensate for all the whining in the world....

We are having a blast at Disney and I think anyone who goes to Florida in the summer is crazy!!!! The weather is perfect and right now we are in line for everest and Gabrielle is gonna do it!!!! Yeah!

We are blessed to be on our way to our family vacation to Disney! Kids are excited and we are looking forward to meeting up with some great friends