July 4th, 2010 Declaration of God-Dependence

July 4th Declaration of God-Dependence

We hold these truths to be evident in the Bible, that God has chosen us to be His children before He made the world; that we are children of God through our whole-hearted faith in Jesus Christ His Son, our faith itself a gift from God, and that as His children, God has given us certain unalienable rights, that among these are eternal life, liberty from guilt, shame, fear, rejection, abandonment, powerlessness, hopelessness and the pursuit of a godly, fruitful Christian life building the Kingdom throughout the world.

That to secure these rights, the Father sacrificed His Son on our behalf to pay a debt we could not pay even when we were enemies of God through our sins. That whenever any form of government, commerce, culture or public opinion becomes destructive to these God-given rights, it is our duty to throw off such beliefs and to trust in the Lord with all our hearts for our future security, believing that it is the right of all believers to cast their cares and needs upon the unbreakable promises of God Who cannot lie.

We, therefore, the congregation assembled here this Lord’s Day, July 4, 2010, do solemnly publish and declare, that we are, and of right ought to be, spiritually free and God-dependent people. We chose to give up our rights to live in our own strength and chose, instead, to live by His strength and promises. We believe that he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot earn.

And for the support of this declaration and with a firm reliance on the protection of God Our Father, Jesus our Lord and God’s Holy Spirit, we pledge to depend on God and on each other for the rest of our days on earth. ( people sign and hang signed letter in church)

Day of Prayer

Please find below a portion of that decree.

Whereas, we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest man-made environmental disaster in our history; and

Whereas, it is our heritage that as a people we have been taught not only to publicly acknowledge God for the many blessings bestowed on us but also that we are to turn to Him and seek His aid and assistance in times of distress and calamity; and

President Ronald Reagan affirmed not only that "Prayer is the mainspring of the American spirit, a fundamental tenet of our people since before the Republic was founded" but also that "Prayer is today as powerful a force in our Nation as it has ever been. We as a Nation should never forget this source of strength";

President Reagan reminded us that we "have always turned to prayer at times of crisis. We recall the moving story of George Washington kneeling in the snow at Valley Forge to ask for divine assistance when the fate of our fledgling Nation hung in the balance. And Abraham Lincoln tells us that on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, 'I went into my room and got down on my knees in prayer.' Never before, he added, had he prayed 'with as much earnestness"; and

President James Buchanan reminded citizens: "In this the hour of our calamity and peril, to Whom shall we resort for relief but to the God of our fathers? His omnipotent arm only can save us from the awful effects . . . let our fervent prayers ascend to His Throne."

President John Tyler said that "When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dispensation of Divine Providence, to recognize His righteous government over the children of men, to acknowledge His goodness in time past, as well as their own unworthiness, and to supplicate His merciful protection for the future";

. . . . . The Continental Congress declared that "in the hour of calamity and impending danger . . . we are peculiarly animated, with true penitence of heart, to prostrate ourselves before our great Creator and fervently to supplicate His gracious interposition for our deliverance"

I therefore call a Day of Prayer, urging citizens to pray comfort on the families of those killed in the initial blast; that God would crown with success efforts to stem the flow of escaping oil; that He would interpose to mitigate further damage and strengthen the hands of clean up crews; that He would sustain those whose livelihood is directly impacted by this tragedy; that He would preserve the health of citizens along the coastal regions; that He would comfort the minds of all citizens, reminding us that He is a strong refuge in times of trouble; that He would guide the counsels of our civil leaders and provide them with wisdom and Divinely inspired solutions to the many complex problems associated with this disaster; and that He would prevent future recurrences.