The Conservative Mom: 10

31 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 35 - On Civil Liberty

Noah Webster (1758-1843) was an American lexicographer, spelling reformer, textbook and political writer, word enthusiast, and editor. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education." His public school textbook History of the United States, published in 1832, includes the following passage:

Almost all civil liberty now enjoyed in the world owes its origin to the principles of the Christian religion...

The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles, which enjoins humilty, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government,

The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws...All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.

Patriot's Prayer: Gracious Heavenly Father, Your Word is, indeed, the true compass of what is good and right. Enable us to show the love, humility, and generosity that You call us Christians to show others. And we pray this nation would return to the principles found in Your Word.

Patriot's Promise: "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." ~ 1 John 4:8

NOTE: All source material(unless otherwise noted)from God's Promises for the American Patriot by Dr. Richard D Lee & Jack Countryman; In God We Still Trust by Dr. Richard D Lee; and The American Patriot's Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America(NKJV) by Richard G Lee (general editor).

30 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 34 - A Prayer for Our Nation

Born in a poor Russian Jewish ghetto, Irving Berlin immigrated to America with his parents when he was five, settling in New York's Lower East Side. He became one of the most prolific American songwriters in history. In 1918 he originally wrote "God Bless America," and he revised it in 1938 as war and the Nazis were threatening Europe. The lyric takes the form of a prayer for God's blessing and peace for the nation. Singer Kate Smith introduced the revised "God Bless America" during her radio broadcast on Armistice Day (now called Veteran's Day) 1938, and the song was an immediate hit. Even now it is considered an unofficial anthem of the United States.

Irving Berlin

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless American, land that I love.

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with the light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans white with foam,

God bless America, my home sweet home.

Patriot's Prayer: We pray, Almighty God, that you will continue to bless America. May we also, Lord, be a blessing to You: with gratitude, and humility.

Patriot's Promise: The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace." ~ Psalm 29:11

29 October 2012

Forty Days To November:
Day 33 - Ohio Edition

When you read the paper or listen to the news, what prompts the word impossible to come to mind? The economy? The Middle East? The national debt? The upcoming elections?

Generations of Americans have faved the seemingly impossible. The settlers faced the unknown wilderness, hunger, disease, and death. In addition, the pioneers heading west had to deal with buffalo herds, prairie fires, stagecoach bandits, and tornados.

Facing the impossible is a fact of life, anytime and anywhere. The early residents of Ohio acknowledged not only the impossibilities of life, but the One for whom noting is impossible. This is the motto of the State of Ohio:

WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

Patriot's Prayer: Strengthen my faith and forgive my unbelief, dear Lord.

Patriot's Promise: All things are possible to him who believes. ~ Mark 9:23

State Flag of Ohio

28 October 2012

Forty Days to November
Day 32: Gathering Storms

General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific during World War II, said in December of 1951:

"In this day of gathering storms, as moral deterioration of political power spreads its growing infection, it is essential that every spriritual force be mobilized to defend and preserve the religious base upon which this nation has been founded; for it has been that base which has been the motivating impulse to our moral and national growth.

"History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has either been a spiritual reawakening to overcome the moral lapse or a progressive deterioration leading to the ultimate disaster."

Patriot's Prayer: Almighty God, forgive us. Hear our cries of mercy. Strengthen those who leade us toward that which is right; remove from leadership those who would keep us from following you.

Patriot's Promise: "The Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers...because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place" ~2 Chronicles 36:15.

27 October 2012

Forty Days To November
Day 31 - Second Amendment Edition

According to the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Having fled persecution, the Puritans required every family to own a gun, carry it in public, and train children in its use. In 1619, Virginia required everyone to bear arms. Conneticut law in 1650 required every male above the age of sixteen to possess "a good musket or other gun fit for service."

See: Religious Roots of the Second Amendment HERE

Notice the Bayonet!

America's early laws were very clear: citizens were responsible for depending themselves and protecting their freedoms. Thomas Jefferson said, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." At the time, there was no concept of a professional army, paid to defend the colonies. Furthermore, for the most part, the colonial churches believed that to revolt against tyrants like King George was to obey God. Jefferson also said, "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."

This conviction, perhaps having its roots in the Old Testament accounts of Israel's wars for freedom, sparked by a powerful fire that impassioned the citizenry. James Madison was inspired to write the Bill of Rights through his knowlege, study and faith in the Scriptures, He was also worried that the Constitution alone provided insufficient commands to keep the people free from tyrants.

The Declaration of Independence contains these words:

Revolutionary War Gun

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

James Madison knew that to back up those words in the Declaration, there needed to be an Amendment to the Constitution. The Second Amendment is short and simple for a reason. We are endowed by our Creator the right to protect the lives of others as well as their own. With a history that spans almost 400 years, Americans continue to value their right to keep and bear arms.

Patriot's Prayer: Lord, please guard America, keep us under our Your wing. We praise You, our Defense, our Fortress.

Patriot's Promise: Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in Heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations." ~Psalm 119:89-90

26 October 2012

Forty Days To November
Day 30 - An Unnecessary Departure
from Just Principles

Did you know that the "Federal Reserve" was shut down by President Andrew Jackson in 1832? President Jackson vetoed the Bank Renewal Bill, preventing the recharging of the Bank of the United States (central banking). Believing the bank was unauthorized by the Constitution and concentrated too much on economic power in the hands of a small moneyed elite, he stated:

Andrew Jackson

"In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive priviliges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society - the farmers, mechanics and laborers - have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government.

"There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and as Heaven does its rains, show its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing. In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles...

"For relief and deliverance let us firmly rely on that kind Providence which I am sure watches with peculiar care over the destinies of our Republic, and on the intelligence and wisdom of our countrymen. Through His abundant goodness and their patriotic devotion our liberty and Union will be preserverd."

The next time the current Federal Reserve (central banking) is up for renewal is in 2013.

Patriot's Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for those times when our nation has recognized her needs for Your guidance. May our leaders today understand that our greatness comes only because of Your mercy and grace.

Patriot's Promise: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ~ 1 Timothy 6:10

Democratic cartoon shows Jackson fighting the monster Bank.
"The Bank", Jackson told Martin Van Buren, "is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!"

25 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 29 - A Republic Corrupted

"When once a republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

In 1819, Thomas Jefferson took all of the sayings of Christ and put them in one volume: "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth," commonly referred to now as the Jefferson Bible. On faith, he wrote:

"I never did, or countenanced, in public life, a single act inconsistent with the strictest good faith; having never believed there was one code of morality for a public, and another for a private man."

And: "I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other."

After recieving Paul's first letter, the Corinthian church was swayed by false teachers who accused Paul of being proud, unimpressive, and unqualified to be an aspostle of Jesus Christ. Recognizing this as spiritual war, Paul sent Titus to Corinth to address this issue.
Every believer needs to know that the opposition that comes their way has its source in evil forces that oppose God and His Truth.

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth

As Paul himself wrote, "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Whether they face immorality or false teaching, government is supposed to take action to remedy the problem. And so are we.

Patriot's Prayer: Help us, Lord in discerning what evil gets in our way of our relationship with You, what evil is corrupting our governemnt, and the strength to share this message with others, especially those whom You know but do not know You.

Patriot's Promise: The weapons of our warfare are...mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God....
~ 2 Corinthians 10:4

24 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 28 - The Ways of Providence

Calvin Coolidge is one of the most overlooked presidents in America's history. Coolidge was thrifty, conservative, and had great zeal for "old-fashioned virtues". His policies while governing were largely responsible for what history calls "the Roaring Twenties." On Memorial Day in 1923, while still Vice President under Warren Harding, Coolidge spoke about our Puritan forefathers. Within three months upon the death of Harding, Coolidge became President. The Memorial Day speech is spactacular reading. Read the entire speech here. A portion of the speech follows:

"If there be a destiny, it is of no avail to us unless we work with it. The ways of Providence will be of no advantage to us unless we proceed in the same direction. If we perceive a destiny in America, if we believe that Providence has been our guide, our own success, our own salvation requires that we should act and serve in harmony and obedience.

"Throughout all the centuries this land remained unknown to civilization. Just at a time when Christianity was at last firmly established, when there was a general advance in learning, when there was a great spiritual awakening, America began to be revealed to the European world. When this new age began, with its new aspirations and its new needs, its new hopes, and its new desires, the shores of our country rose through the mist, disclosing a new hemisphere in which, untrammeled by Old World conventions, new ideals might establish for mankind a new experience and a new life.

"Settlers came here from mixed motives, some for pillage and adventure, some for trade and refuge, but those who have set their imperishable mark upon our institutions came from far higher motives.

"Generally defined, they were seeking a broader freedom. They were intent upon establishing a Christian commonwealth in accordance to the principle of self-government.

"They were an inspired body of men. They had a genius for organized society on the foundations of piety, righteousness, liberty, and obedience of the law. wherever it contributed to the civilizing power of these great agencies. But the class and caste, the immaterial formalism of the Old World, they left behind. They let slip their grasp upon conventionalities that they might lay a firmer hold upon realities. . .

"They brought with them the accumulated wisdom and experience of the ages. Such is America, such is the government and civilization which have grown up around the church, the town meeting, and the schoolhouse. It is not perfect, but it surpasses the accomplishments of any other people. Such is the state of society which has been created in this country, which has brought it from the untrodden wilderness of 300 years ago to its present state of development. Who can fail to see in it the hand of destiny? Who can doubt that it has been guided by a Divine Providence?"

Patriot's Prayer: Lord, let me not forget where You have brought us from and where we would be if not for Your mercy. For sometimes we seem to forget; so please remind us, Dear Lord. We are blessed.

Patriot's Promise: Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." ~ Deuteronomy 4:6

23 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 27 - ...But as For Me

Patrick Henry
was a staunch
Anti-Federalist!

Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was one of the most passionate and firey advocates of the American Revolution. Many have compared him to an Old Testament prophet in his powerful denunciations of corruption in government officials and his defense of the Colonists' rights. Elected to the Virginia State Legislature in 1775, he rallied Virginia into military preparedness.

Rebellion against unjust taxes had begun, and the British had posted troops throughout the Coloniees and warships in the harbors. On March 23, 1775, during the Second Virginia Conventions debates on whether to declare independence or negotiate with the British, Patrick Henry called upon his Countrymen to trust God:

Patrick Henry depicted in a
painting delivering his speech

"Sirs, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sirs is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."

And his infamous, passionate conclusion:

"Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me give me liberty, or give me death!"

Patriot's Prayer: You are my anchor, heavenly Father. Sometimes I feel like I am on a tumultuous sea, being tossed to and fro and having no real sense of direction. But I know that You are there with me, You have me in your hand, and that You are guiding me safely to shore. Thank you, Lord, that I can hope in You.

Patriot's Promise: "...Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which you fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." ~ Joshua 24:15

22 October 2012

Forty Days To November
Day 26 - The American Sound

15 days.

Few Presidents had the ability to ignite hope in the hearts of those who loved liberty more than President Ronald Reagan. In his Second Inaugural Address*, after winning in a landslide election, Reagan stated:

40.

"History is a ribbon, always unfurling; history is a journey, we think of those who traveled before us...Now we hear again the echoes of our past: a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge; a lonely president paces the darkened halls and ponders his struggle to preserve the Union; the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other, a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air.

"It is the American sound. It is hopeful, bighearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. That's our heritage; that is our song. We sing it still. For all our problems our differences, we are together as of old, as we raise our voices to the God who is the Author of this most tender music. And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound - sound in unity, affection, and love - One people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world."

Present Day Founding Father
of the new Freedom Movement

Patriot's Prayer: Holy God, convict us of our nation's sins and turn our hearts back to You in repentance. Do this not only for our sake, but for the sake of the generations of Americans who will follow us.

Patriot's Promise: For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me, and I will listen to you. ~ Jeremiah 29:11-13

Reagan's opponent, Michael Dukakis, won only his home state.

*Links to a video. Watch President Reagan deliver his Second Inaugural address. Listen.

NOTE: All source material(unless otherwise noted)from God's Promises for the American Patriot by Dr. Richard D Lee & Jack Countryman; In God We Still Trust by Dr. Richard D Lee; and The American Patriot's Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America(NKJV) by Richard G Lee (general editor).

Forty Days To November:
Day 25 - Guidance of a Divine Hand

In his inaugural address on March 5, 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, included in his speech the following:

"Looking for the guidance of that Divine Hand by which the destinies of nations and individuals are shaped, I call upon you Senators, Representatives, judges, fellow citizens, here and everywhere to secure to our country the blessings, not only of material property, but of justice, peace and union - a union depending not upon the constraint of force but upon the loving devotion of a free people; and that all things may be so ordered and settled upon the best and surest foundations that peace and happiness."

Patriot's Prayer: Father God, protect our nation so that we can be the light of salvation and freedom -political as well as spiritual - in this sin-darkened world.

Patriot's Promise: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, And give you peace~Numbers 6:24-26

Rutherford B. Hayes takes the Oath of Office.

20 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 24 - A Tangible Illustration

Benjamin F. Butler

Benjamin Franklin Butler (1795-1858), a lawyer, a legislator for New York's state assembly, and in 1838 was appointed by President Andrew Jackson to be the 12th U.S. Attorney General. Butler was instrumental in founding New York University in 1831, and he also served as U.S. Secretary of War. In address at Alexandria, D.C., in 1834, he stated:

"He is truly happy, whatever may be his temporal condition, who can call God as his Father in the full assurance of faith and hope. And amid all his trials, conflicts, and doubts, the feeblest Christian is still comparatively happy; because cheered by hope that the hour is coming when he shall be delivered from this 'body of sin and death' and in the vision of his Redeemer and felicity of angels.

Not only does the Bible inculcate, with sactions of the highest import, a system of the purest morality, but in the person and charachter of our Blessed Savior it exhibits a tangible illustration of that system.

In Him we have set before us--what, till the publication of the Gospel, the world had never seen--a model of feeling and action adapted to all times, places, and circumstances; and combining so much wisdom, benevolence, and holiness, that none can fathom its sublimity; and yet, presented in a form so simple, that even a child may be made to understand, and taught to love it."

Benjamin Franklin Butler
is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx

Patriot's Prayer: Lord, let me be a light to people lost in darkness. Let me be one who can share your love in such a way that "even a child may be made to understand," and that they be taught to love You as I do.

Patriot's Promise: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! ~1 John 3:1

19 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 23 - For a Moral and Religious People

John Adams (1735-1826) is one of America's Founding Fathers, and he served as the second president of the United States. Read what he wrote in an October 1798 letter to the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Massachusetts Militia:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Patriot's Prayer: Thank you Dear Father, for the love You have shown me and this nation. I pray that you continue to bless us, help the economy grow stronger, and lead us to a point of such high standards that the world will notice that You truly do have Your hand upon us.

Patriot's Promise: "Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people" ~Jeremiah 7:23

John Adams bust sculpture
Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

18 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 22 - Rules of Eternal Justice

Considered one of America's greatest orators in history, Daniel Webster (1782-1852) served as a US congressman and senator as well as Secretary of State for three different presidents. From his speech before the Historica Society of New York on February 23, 1852, just shortly before he died:

Daniel Webster

"If we and our posterity shall be true to the Christian religion, if we and they shall live always in the fear of God and shall respect His commandments, if we and they shall maintain just moral sentiments and such concientious convictions of duty as shall control the heart and life, we may have the highest hops of the future fortunes of our country...

But if we and our posterity reject religious institutions and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us."

Patriot's Prayer: Thank You God for Your sustaining presence in our lives amd our many blessings that proceed from it.

Patriot's Promise: He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor. ~Proverbs 22:9

17 October 2012

Forty Days to November:
Day 21 - Responding with Humility

The book of First Samuel offers a contrast between two very different rulers of Israel: Saul, who relied on his own abilities and reason to make crucial decisions about leading God's people; and David, who chose a path of humility and faith in God. As long as David chose righteousness, God blessed the nation of Judah.

Taking Fort Sumter,
also called the Battle of Bull Run

Similarly, as the newly split America entered into the "War Between the States", (Civil War), Union President Abraham Lincoln believed that the torn-apart nation needed to turn its heart to God. It is said that both sides, the North & the South, thought this war would only last a few months. On April 12, 1861, history marks the first battle of this war where the Union Army was defeated by the Confederates at Fort Sumter. Perhaps with some guidance by the Holy Spirit Lincoln knew the war would last far too long. Encouraged by his Congress, Lincoln signed a declaration calling upon all of the American people on both sides to humble themselves in the wake of what was to come. This Proclamation partly reads:

"Therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do appoint the last Thursday in September next as a day of humiliation, prayer, and fasting for all the people of the nation. And I do earnestly recommend to all the people, and especially to all ministers and teachers of religion of all denominations and to all heads of families, to observe and keep that day according to their several creeds and modes of worship in all humility and with all religious solemnity, to the end that the united prayer of the nation may ascend to the Throne of Grace and bring down plentiful blessings upon our country."

Anerica would need four more last Thursdays in September.
God does not choose sides. But He delights in those who are humble. (1 Samuel 15:22)

Patriot's Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, teach us godly humility in such a way that we will clearly demonstrate it to others in our lives.

Patriot's Promise: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ~ James 4:6

At Appomattix, Lee & Grant meet to
end the Civil War
April 1865