“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”–Genesis 12:1-3

Despite what many people want you to believe today, America is a Christian nation. America was founded on the principles of God’s Word and many of the early leaders of our land recognized the importance of the Bible in founding the nation. Notice a few quotes from early American leaders:

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ!”—Patrick Henry

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: that it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”—John Quincy Adams

“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”—John Jay

“Do not let anyone claim the tribute of American patriotism if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”—George Washington

The biggest tragedy of our day is the act of overlooking the spiritual base of our nation. Overlooking our biblical heritage leads to the election of leaders who have no respect for God, the Supreme Ruler of our nation.

While our nation is not perfect, I praise the Lord for its spiritual heritage. No other nation in the world has a history so based on the Bible as America does. No other nation can point to a spiritually moral foundation like we can. Praise God for that!

God has greatly blessed America because our Founding Fathers established our nation on biblical principles. Never forget in this day of compromise that God blesses those who follow the principles of His Word. Our nation is great because throughout history Americans have blessed God.

As you celebrate our national Day of Independence, take time to thank God for His blessings on our nation. We would not be the great nation we are today were it not for God. Also, remember God promises to bless those who follow Him and His Word. Renew your commitment today, like our forefathers did with the founding of America, to base your life on the principles of God’s Word.(By Paul Chappell)

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14).

God gets His greatest victories out of apparent defeats. Very often the enemy seems to triumph for a little, and God lets it be so; but then He comes in and upsets all the work of the enemy, overthrows the apparent victory, and as the Bible says, “turns the way of the wicked upside down.” Thus He gives a great deal larger victory than we would have known if He had not allowed the enemy, seemingly, to triumph in the first place.

The story of the three Hebrew children being cast into the fiery furnace is a familiar one. Here was an apparent victory for the enemy. It looked as if the servants of the living God were going to have a terrible defeat. We have all been in places where it seemed as though we were defeated, and the enemy rejoiced. We can imagine what a complete defeat this looked to be. They fell down into the flames, and their enemies watched them to see them burn up in that awful fire, but were greatly astonished to see them walking around in the fire enjoying themselves. Nebuchadnezzar told them to “come forth out of the midst of the fire.” Not even a hair was singed, nor was the smell of fire on their garments, “because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.”

This apparent defeat resulted in a marvelous victory.

Suppose that these three men had lost their faith and courage, and had complained, saying, “Why did not God keep us out of the furnace!” They would have been burned, and God would not have been glorified. If there is a great trial in your life today, do not own it as a defeat, but continue, by faith, to claim the victory through Him who is able to make you more than conqueror, and a glorious victory will soon be apparent. Let us learn that in all the hard places God brings us into, He is making opportunities for us to exercise such faith in Him as will bring about blessed results and greatly glorify His name.
–Life of Praise