Released by the Rev. J. Pete Hyde …
Good morning;
Today our nation pauses (I guess no one really pauses except banks, schools and government offices.) to celebrate President’s Day, a day created to combine the celebration and holidays to remember George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. These two regular men grew to greatness and shaped our country.
Washington led and motivated the revolutionary troops as our country fought for its freedom from England and became our first president. Places like Valley Forge come to mind.
Lincoln led our country through another fight for freedom, the fight against slavery. He led us through a time of division and bloody civil war. A trip through the civil war park in Vicksburg gives a somber reminder of the numbers of lives lost on both sides of this deadly conflict. Rows and rows of headstones mark a war in which brother fought against brother in a battle for freedom from slavery. Places like Gettysburg and Vicksburg come to mind.
No matter where you travel east of the Mississippi and through many states west of the river there are reminders of the breadth of the war that divided our country. Historical markers and small battlefield parks such as Pea Ridge Military park in northwest Arkansas dot the countryside to remind us of our country’s continuing struggle for freedom, justice and equality. This struggle continues even today.
So what do we really celebrate today. I think it is more than just a couple of birthdays. We celebrate and remember the essence of our country. One of the freedoms fought for in the Revolution was freedom of religion. The founders of our country were godly men and women whose faith steered their lives, their decisions and their leadership. Somehow, we have gone so far astray from that principle that it has morphed into “freedom FROM religion.” The founders and crafters of our nation are certainly scratching their heads in wonder as they look down and see the direction of this country they formed on Godly principles and scriptural models.
So, let today be a time of reflection on how our country began and the principles on which it was founded. Let today be a time we look at our country as it is now and ask: “Are we still operating under those original principles or have we strayed from our original mission?” Let today be a time to lift our country in prayer. Let today be a time we lift our political leaders on all levels of government in prayer, that they be open to the guidance of the God’s Spirit, that they be open to discerning God’s will as they make decisions that affect the principles and direction of our great country, that they be godly men and women elected to represent and be accountable to those who placed them in the sacred trust of political office. Ask God to be present with them as they govern.
Rev. J. Pete Hyde, Senior Pastor
Santa Rosa Beach Community Church
850-267-2599; srbcc.com