Voices from your past: A 4th of July challenge to remember

 

 

According to my Facebook newsfeed, the Man of Steel is the movie to see right now.  I plan to see it since Hollywood titled the film in honor of my very own husband, the one and only Chad Steel. {smile}

But seriously… do you remember the first Superman movie?  If so, you’ll remember that Superman literally heard a voice from his past throughout the movie. The voice belonged to his father, who perished when Superman’s home, the Planet Krypton, exploded. By heeding his deceased father’s instruction, Superman achieved the greatness of his destiny.

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, I asked my own “man of Steel” (who also happens to be a man of history) to share some “voices” from our nation’s past with you. We challenge you to search the following quotes for the common Truth that weaves them together.

We must not forget these voices as a nation. We need to remember…

 

 

 

George Washington, at his first Inaugural Address, knew the task laid out before the American experiment. President Washington said, “…No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.”

President Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, echoed those sentiments in August 1774: “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? …Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever…”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt wheeled his chair to the microphone, took a breath, and spoke to an American public anxious about the largest invasion in world history. The night was June 6, 1944, and Adolf Hitler’s Atlantic Wall was breached by Allied soldiers. Roosevelt said, “My fellow Americans… I ask you to join me in prayer: Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity…”

President Ronald Reagan championed the American cause, but he also left a warning to future generations of America regarding God. At a prayer breakfast in 1984, Reagan said, “You know, if we look back through history to all those great civilizations, those great nations that rose up to even world dominance and then deteriorated, declined, and fell, we find they all had one thing in common. One of the significant forerunners of their fall was their turning away from their God…” He ended his speech by saying, “And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

 

On this Independence Day, remember these voices from our nation’s past. Recall the theme that runs through their words. Pray that we, as a nation, will remember and heed the voices from our past. We are still and will always be one nation under an Almighty God.

 

May God continue to shed His grace upon us all. Happy 4th everyone!