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| Newborn visitor near our garden this morning. |
Tomorrow we celebrate July 4, the day we declared our independence from Great Britain. Many individuals put their lives on the line as well as endangering their families when signing the Declaration of Independence so many years ago. Since then, many men and women have given their lives for our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have today. I have been thinking this day, have their sacrifices been in vain? Have we forgotten the God whom we have asked to bless our nation so long ago?
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| Seeing life in all its beauty. |
In church today we learned that the Northern Kingdom of Israel broke away from Judah after Solomon’s death. Solomon had set a bad precedent of allowing false religions into his kingdom, and that direction was followed by his offspring as well. When Jeroboam formed the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he too allowed his people to follow other false religions that came from the neighboring kingdoms. He wanted the prosperity and trade of these other countries and so was not concerned about following the one true God of Israel. God sent messengers to warn Israel that judgment would befall this nation because of their tolerance of false religions. The end did occur in 722 B.C. when the Assyrians took them away. God did speak to them about their judgment that was coming in II Kings 17:7-23.
Are we becoming a nation such as the Northern Kingdom of Israel? Are we following many religions in our country and denying the one true God of Israel? Are our children falling away from the faith of our forefathers and following after other religions, or having no faith at all?
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| God's wonders never cease! |
We as a nation need to pray for revival. We need to seek God for guidance and his blessings for our nation once again. Let not what so many have sacrificed for us be taken away because we as a nation did not seek after our Lord and Savior.
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