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Content type: Sermon Poem / Prayer Service / Tribute Incomplete Biography
Body: One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, “Mommy, will you stay with me all night?” Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, “I can’t dear. I have to sleep in Daddy’s room.” A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, “The big sissy!” On July 30, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law a bill declaring “In God We Trust” to become the nation's official motto. Under the legislation, Congress further mandated that the phrase be printed, in capital letters, on every denomination of U.S. paper currency. The motto first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864, during the Civil War, when religious sentiment was at a peak. At a Flag Day speech in 1954, President Eisenhower discussed why he wanted to include “under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance: “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” There have been several attempts over the years to remove this motto, but all have failed. According to a 2003 joint poll by USA Today, CNN, and Gallup, 90% of Americans support the inscription "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency. Psalm 91 1-16 (1)He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" (3) For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. (4) He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. (5) You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; (6) Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. (7) A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. (8) You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. (9) For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. (10) No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. (11) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. (12) They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. (13) You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down. (14) "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.(15) He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. (16) With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation." “ Psalm 91 teaches all of us a crucial lesson for life—a lesson we need to live by whether we are at war or enjoying a period of peace; whether we are experiencing economic prosperity or whether we are struggling, waiting for economic recovery; whether our family life is terrific or whether you find your home torn in conflict – this is THE truth we need to remember...the truth we must live in to experience victory: “IN GOD WE TRUST!” We can trust in the institutions of man, in other gods, or rely on ourselves, but history is full of failed governments, empty religions, and powerful armies defeated by God. As believers, God is for us and when we place our trust in Him, we are promised victory.” In this psalm we find hope, help and healing, regardless of the times, or the situation. Psalm 91 reminds us of this truth: No matter who you are, where you are, or what circumstance you find yourself in, He is available, and His arms are open wide to deliver hope, help, stability and peace. He receives everyone who runs to Him. This has been a trying week. One of those weeks when situations and circumstances, mostly out of our control, seems to pile up. A time when we ask questions like why, how, when and why again. As I pulled out some change from my pocket it was like the motto “ In God We Trust” engraved on the coin jumped out at me and said: John, you can’t figure this out on your own, trust Me! In this Psalm we are promised 4 things: Shelter, Strength, Security, and Salvation when we place our trust in God. I. Shelter (1-2) - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" The Hebrew word for "shelter" means "a place to hide from your enemies. This word reminds us that during times of trouble, we can run to God and He will take care of us. Like a kid runs to his big brother for shelter from a bully, we can run to God for shelter from anything that life throws our way. Like a small child hides behind the security of his mother’s apron when he is afraid, we can hide in the presence of our God. Our relationship with God, within itself, is a retreat. We can run to Him anytime and find a hiding, settling place for our souls. These were Jesus’ exact words to us... “Come to me all who weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). God is our place of shelter. When the bad news of the world piles up and heartache or sorrow are at every turn, you can run to Him, and He will give you rest. God is our source; He is our shelter; He gives us protection and rest. When we place our trust in God alone, we are promised, Shelter and II. Strength (5-8) Strength and Courage are common words used when we are in crises. We saw strength and courage at work in the thousands of people who rushed in to help during the attacks of 911. We often see stories of strength and courage following hurricanes or massive tornadoes. We’ve seen strength and courage during this pandemic. All Americans need to be reminded that the source of our strength and courage is not our own abilities, but in the God we trust. Listen to what Moses said, “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; (6) Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. (7) A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. (8) You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense (the reward) of the wicked. This is spoken as prophesy, but it applies today! As a child of God, nothing approaches you by surprise and nothing can separate you from the firm grip of God! (Romans 8). Have we seen the last attack of an enemy or virus on American soil? I seriously doubt it, but no one knows. We do know this: we can face each day with strength and courage – We don’t have to lie awake at night in fear of the absolute worst. We don’t have to put our lives on hold. We don’t have to fear economic disaster. We don’t have to surrender our hopes and dreams for the future. We don’t have to fear the terror by night or the arrow that flies by day! We can put our trust and our lives in God’s capable hands. The words of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural address are often repeated, "…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." The entire quote says, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” We know now how true these words are. Fear holds you back, it paralyzes you. Fear causes you to withdraw. Fear turns an optimist into a pessimist. Our trust is not founded on presidential ability, or the U.S. military or some international coalition. Our trust is not built on Social Security or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Our security does not rest in the CIA, the FBI, or “Homeland Security”. Even though we live in the greatest nation that civilization has ever known, our hope does not rely on this nation or it’s leaders. In fact, I would submit to you that the reason our nation is so great and has not only survived but flourished throughout its relatively young history, is that we, American citizens of the United States, proudly pledge our allegiance to, “ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE AND FOR ALL.” God is our refuge; He is the Source of our strength. I am so very thankful for a military that is ready at a moment’s notice to defend this land, but America’s hope is not in Americans, it is in God! As God’s people, we are assured that His hand rests upon us. He is with us every step of the way in this life, and when our life is over, we are with Him throughout eternity. This is why Paul said, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) That’s why David said... “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1) In these troubled times of worldwide pandemic, God IS our source of strength; He will give us courage. What is the source of your strength? Is it temporal or eternal? When we place our trust in God alone, we are promised, shelter, strength, and III. Security (9-10) In order to provide shelter and strength, your source needs to be secure. Flooded storm shelters are of no use. If it is temporary, it will fail. If it is mechanical, it will break down. Many serve gods of materialism, gods of immorality, and gods of self-righteousness. Do you really want to trust your eternal security to self-created, empty gods? The question each of us must ask ourselves is, "Who is our source of SECURITY?” History verifies governments pass away. History proves militaries are defeated. There is but one timeless, ageless and firm constant, and that is God! Moses said, “For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.” He goes on to say, “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” This is the verse Satan misquoted to Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness. Satan misquoted this verse to tempt Jesus to take it out of context and apply it where it didn’t apply. He left out “to guard you in all your ways”. The “way” spoken of here is the path of obedience and duty, not presumption and self-promotion. This verse is about God’s ultimate protection. On His path we are promised protection. We are never promised protection from our own agenda. Though it may appear to some that the enemy defeated Jesus at Calvary, He was firmly protected by the mighty hand of God. On the third day, Christ rose from the dead; even death couldn’t harm Him. These verses apply to us just as they applied to Christ. We have God’s promise of His ultimate protection. So far, over 200,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19; and millions worldwide, but those who placed their trust in God are now safely in His presence. The world may ask, “Where is God? I thought He was our shelter, our strength and our security?” Even when innocent Americans are victims of an attack, any and all who call out to God, placing their faith in Jesus Christ will find eternal security in Him, "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name” (14). Our Security is not in an unstable political regime, neither is it in the most powerful political system in our world today. The ONLY source of Security is in God. If you allow Him, He will also be your Source of security. Placing our trust in God alone gives us a source of shelter, strength, security, and IV. Salvation (15-16) Moses concludes Psalm 91 with the very words of God, “When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor. I will satisfy him with a long life and show him My salvation.” The trouble of life is meant to drive you to further dependence on God. In the face of calamity, natural disasters, pandemic and economic upheaval, my prayer is that many will turn to Christ for salvation. Yes, we want our nation to be “saved” so that we can continue to live in freedom and prosperity. We long for a return to normalcy. However, there is another type of salvation that I pray the people of our nation, and every nation on earth will experience; the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone. He alone has the power to save us; He alone has the power to save them. He can save us all from the original pandemic, OUR SIN. He can save us from our hatred, our intolerance, from our need to see different cultures or political parties as the enemy; from our lust for power, our greed, even from ourselves. He alone is our salvation. We must remember that salvation is a personal experience. God’s people are not defined by their ethnicity or their nationality; they’re defined by their relationship with Jesus Christ. My prayer is that everyone in this world would hear the ONE TRUE MESSAGE OF THE ONE TRUE GOD and they would respond by faith and receive Him personally, intimately. “…God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3-4). We need God to save our nation, but we also need Him to save our souls; a tragedy far greater than a hurricane, or the coronavirus is missing out on Judgment Day. It will be worse than 9/11, worse than hurricanes Katrina and Harvey, worse than Hiroshima, and worse than the coronavirus! In fact, it will be worse than all these combined for those who have never put their trust in Christ. It will be the very worst day of their existence if one fails to recognize their need for salvation from sin. This is what we should fear the most. Fear and trust go hand and hand. Trusting in God WILL calm our fears and give us peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding The parents and widow of a CIA operative killed in Afghanistan answered this question live on Larry King, “How are you coping with this great loss?” The young widow responded, “We are all believers in Jesus Christ. What that means is because Jesus conquered death. Because He lives, my husband also lives, and is alive today and we will all be reunited in eternity.” God’s shelter, strength, security and salvation, far surpasses anything this world can offer, it is eternal, and beyond what this temporary world can offer! I would like to close with reading Psalm 56, a psalm of David. When I am afraid I will put my trust in You! 1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack. 2 My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride. 3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? 5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. 6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life. 7 On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations. 8 Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll, are they not in your record? 9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise— 11 In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Our forefathers thought it essential to place God in the pockets, in the wallets, and in the purses of every person in our great nation. Our great nation UNDER GOD! There will be fear. It began with Adam and Eve. So the next time you come face to face with fear, reach in your pocket and recite these four words. “In God We Trust”. Amen, and glory to God on the highest. Credits contributed by and to Dr. Bruce Northam
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