Home from vacation, good nights sleep (in my own bed), unpacked and 4 loads of laundry done and put away, refrigerator filled up with food......so now I am ready to get back to my normal life. I was so tired last night but I could not fall asleep. So I picked up my Bible and started looking at those 5:19 verses and just for good measure, I looked at the 51:9 verses also. I got stuck on Jeremiah 5:19... "And when the people ask, "Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?, you will tell them, "As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own."
Well, this certainly hit a cord with me. I couldn't help but reflect on all that I saw in Washington DC and New York City. It was so clear that God was a part of the establishment of the United States. Every document, every display, every where you turned, there was God. I simply don't understand how anyone could not accept and embrace that the United States welcomed the presence of God and He is the solid foundation that our nation was built on. When you look at the current state of things, it is quite clear that many have turned their back on this reality. The thing is, whether they like it or not, or want to admit it, this land belongs to God.
And then I visited a sight of an attack on our own soil.... of terrorism, death, and destruction. And the reality of war - here at home... well it was real and it was right there. There was one part of the museum that had the "response" to 9/11. The first wall was pictures of flags. Lots and lots of American Flags. As a matter of fact, it said that Walmart sold 22,000 flags in one day. They sold out their entire warehouse of flags and had to order more from the manufacturer. There were videos of people saying that they had gone from store to store to store and could not find a flag to buy.
As I was putting away our suitcases and kind of cleaning up in my scrapping room, I noticed this sitting on the table.......
Before we left on vacation Ken and I were cleaning out some closets. We had saved this magazine from September 20, 2001. I hadn't really looked at it before we left, but I read it from cover to cover this afternoon. What really struck me was the bold title......GOD BLESS AMERICA! The terrible event brought us back to our foundation. To God. As we were raising the flags, we were asking for God to rescue us. To bless us. To restore us once again.
How interesting that today is Flag Day. I am so sure that there are not many flags flying especially today. But I was thinking about this........
I was reminded of a newspaper headline that I saw, not long after 9/11. It said, "They wanted to change America forever on 9/11.....and they have!" It reminded us that we need to stand up and be American and to ask God to bless us. Yes, it accomplished something.
I love how Jesus has given me some clear direction on how to pray for America. I will be praying for us to remember the foundation....the strong and clear basis of our country.
Jesus, thank you for bringing me to those 5:19 verses. Holy Spirit help us to stay out of the fear of terrorism and keep us IN the peace that passes all understanding. Jesus, bring truth into all of the political arena. Bring revelation and wisdom to everyone in our government. Give courage and boldness to all of your people Jesus, so that they can rise and shine amid the darkness of this world. Help us all to effect the environment around us! Amen
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