A November to Remember
It is the 23rd day of November as I type this blog. 20 days after our Presidential election, and we still don’t officially know who our president is. One day when we look back on this historic election, and on all of the turmoil that has surrounded it, it will most definitely be a November to remember.
In the waiting, there is much confusion about what is truth, and what are lies.
Have we forgotten what truth is?
This is a November to remember John 14:16. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ”
This is a November to remember John 8:31(b)-32. “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ “
This is a November to remember Psalm 145:18. “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
When we turn on the television, there is so much hatred and slander. People are verbally and physically attacking each other on social media and in YouTube videos. If you express views that are different than someone else’s views, your character or reputation (even your life!) may be in danger. There seems to be no limit to how far people will go.
Have we forgotten what honor, decency and kindness toward our fellow man is?
This is a November to remember Matthew 7:12. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
This is a November to remember Matthew 22:37-19. “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
This is a November to remember 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Today’s climate and culture in our nation are frought with arguments about prayer being in school, the church being in politics, and even the name of God being in the Pledge of Allegiance. Historical statues have been desecrated and torn down, essentially saying our past has no place here in our present. But even when parts of our past are things we do not want to repeat, history tells us they will be repeated in some form or fashion, again and again, if you have nothing to remember the history by.
Faith and religion played a strong role in the founding of our nation.** Some of our Founding Fathers openly and publicly acknowledged Him as the source of our blessings and freedom. Unfortunately, their own words demonstrating these foundational principles have been largely forgotten.
This is a November to remember the words of America’s Founding Fathers:
“Let me, then, not fail to praise my God continually, for it is his due, and it is all I can return for his many favors and great goodness to me; and let me resolve to be virtuous, that I may be happy, that I may please him who is delighted to see me happy.” - Benjamin Franklin: "Articles of belief and Acts of Religion" (20 Nov. 1728)
“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever.” -Thomas Jefferson: Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 18, 1781
“The liberty enjoyed by the people of these states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights.” -George Washington: to the Annual meeting of Quakers, September 1789
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