the Declaration of Independence

With elections around the corner, Ive been thinking about history...the importance of history, whether it be the fall of the Roman Empire, Biblical history or American history, we have so much to learn from those that have lived before us...the good and the evil.

Over 234 years ago our Congress adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence. It was a document to declare America's independence from the British Empire. The document is quite lengthy, and unless you are an 8th grader required to memorize it for a US history class (which I think is a terrific idea), then you can probably only quote a small portion of it...say for instance the sentence that reads..."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.

This has been deemed as one of the best known sentences in the English language.

That leads me to September 17, 2010 at the Congressional Hispance Caucus. Our President, while giving his address quoted a portion of the Declaration of Independence...editing it a bit..."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." he said. He was reading from a teleprompter.

My neighborhood Bible study...which has grown and is now not technically a "neighborhood" study but a group of girls who love the Lord and who I have grown to love over the previous nine months...has just started a study entitled Return to the Garden:Embracing God's Design for Sexuality. No, I will not be blogging the contents of this study.

We began our study with Hosea 4:1-8. In describing the people of Israel, the Lord says, "there is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery, they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed."
Why? How did a people end up this way? Let us learn from this history lesson to avoid the same outcome. He gives us the reason in verse 1..."there is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. "

Go back and compare the two quotes from the Declaration of Independence.

...the phrase has been going through my head all week..."no acknowledgement of God in the land." Then I was horrified. Grieved. Angry. Listening to our leader intentionly leave out the phrase "by their Creator" when giving a speech.

I experienced many emotions but despair was not one of them because if you keep reading the Scripture you will see a love story unfolding. A love story between a Creator God and his people. A people he loves so much that although they stray and turn their backs on Him...He longs for their return. More than that, He has provided a means for their return through His own Son.

Am I mad at Obama? No.
No. I am not mad at him. I pray that he becomes the leader that I think America deserves and most importantly one in which the Lord would boast.