Yesterday I was flipping through the pages of my 4 year old's bible- a Gideon published New Testament- and was pleasantly surprised by what I found in the prefacing pages.
A few songs were shared there, anthems, such as "Jesus, Lover of my soul", "The Star -Spangled Banner", "Onward, Christian soldiers" and "America ( My country 'tis of thee)". The songs themselves were not the surprise. It was the verses that are not generally sung or mainstream.
We may all belt out, skillfully or unskillfully,
O say ! can you see, by the dawn's early light....
Yet the song has this 4th verse:
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation...
Or how about this one:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing...
Yet take a look at verse 4:
Our father's God, to thee,
author of liberty,
to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might,
Great God our King.
My initial thought after reading and re-reading the words to these popular songs, was , wow. Look how far America has come. Our King is no longer the great God, and our land is in dire need of Heaven's rescue. This nation does not sing to God any longer, but to itself only. Could the reason be, that those of us who call ourselves Christians, have failed, to exemplify the words in this final song:
Chorus: Onward Christian soldiers, fighting as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before
Verse 2: Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers we are treading where the saints have trod;
We are not divided, All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,One in charity
Psalm 33:12 says Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 144:15 says Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
Prayerfully you enjoyed a warm and wonderful and fairly restful, Thanks-Giving Day. Of course in the life of a christian, Thanks Giving is the life we live- living a life in a way that says thanks to God for his great sacrifice. We must be careful to make sure we are not just thankful for the things we have, but that our thanks, is directed to the one who provided these things for us.
Jeremiah 13:25
We cannot longer afford to forget or neglect the God of the earth. He is soon to come. And when he comes, will he find faith on the earth? ( Luke 18:8)
If Jesus Christ, Jehovah revealed, is your God, then He will.
A few songs were shared there, anthems, such as "Jesus, Lover of my soul", "The Star -Spangled Banner", "Onward, Christian soldiers" and "America ( My country 'tis of thee)". The songs themselves were not the surprise. It was the verses that are not generally sung or mainstream.
We may all belt out, skillfully or unskillfully,
O say ! can you see, by the dawn's early light....
Yet the song has this 4th verse:
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation...
Or how about this one:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing...
Yet take a look at verse 4:
Our father's God, to thee,
author of liberty,
to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might,
Great God our King.
My initial thought after reading and re-reading the words to these popular songs, was , wow. Look how far America has come. Our King is no longer the great God, and our land is in dire need of Heaven's rescue. This nation does not sing to God any longer, but to itself only. Could the reason be, that those of us who call ourselves Christians, have failed, to exemplify the words in this final song:
Chorus: Onward Christian soldiers, fighting as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before
Verse 2: Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers we are treading where the saints have trod;
We are not divided, All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,One in charity
Psalm 33:12 says Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 144:15 says Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
Prayerfully you enjoyed a warm and wonderful and fairly restful, Thanks-Giving Day. Of course in the life of a christian, Thanks Giving is the life we live- living a life in a way that says thanks to God for his great sacrifice. We must be careful to make sure we are not just thankful for the things we have, but that our thanks, is directed to the one who provided these things for us.
Jeremiah 13:25
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We cannot longer afford to forget or neglect the God of the earth. He is soon to come. And when he comes, will he find faith on the earth? ( Luke 18:8)
If Jesus Christ, Jehovah revealed, is your God, then He will.
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