Enjoy a Peaceful Smoky Mountain Retreat

If you are contemplating a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains, please consider visiting our lovely three-bedroom rental cottage, Rocky Top, located in the Hidden Mountain Resort in Sevierville, Tennessee.

Prayer and the Constitution

        Eleven years had lapsed since a brave and courageous band of men signed the Declaration of Independence with a “firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence.” It was now time to forge a document by which the emerging nation should be governed. 

        This delegation of 55 members met in the same State House Chamber in Philadelphia in which the Second Continental Congress met to sign the Declaration of Independence.

        Throughout the war with England the Continental Congress prayed often, individually and publicly, acknowledging their dependence on God, but members of the Constitutional Convention had not. 

        The Constitutional Convention was contentious and divided during their first five weeks. The northern states insisted the number representing each state should be based solely on the number of residents in each state. The southern agricultural states insisted it be based on the number of cultivated acres. 

        It appeared the contention within the body would result in irreconcilable division with one state even threatening to identify with a different nation. There was a threat that the military should be engaged to keep the body from self-disrupting. 

        George Washington, who presided at the convention, realized he needed another miracle to hold the body together and the forging of a constitution by which they should be governed.

        The eighty-one year old Benjamin Franklin, like Washington, had rarely engaged in the debates. Nevertheless, he gained the floor and addressed the assembly. In part he said, “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid.”

        He then proposed they have a clergy come in and lead the body in prayer. Comments were made regarding the idea. Today critics are quick to note Franklin’s proposal was never even voted on, much less approved. They fail to explain what happened and why. In the following debate it was suggested that a minister be brought in and the body have prayer. Alexander Hamilton noted this was something that should have been done much earlier and if at this late date clergy was brought in the public would conclude conditions were dire, if not impossible. Hugh Williamson of North Carolina noted they did not have funds with which to engage a clergy earlier. Thus, the idea failed.

        Edmond Randolph proposed a sermon be preached at the behest of the delegates on July 4, the date said to be the date of the signing of the Declamation of Independence. Such was done at Christ Church in Philadelphia with Reverend William White preaching a message centered on trusting God for wisdom.

        The Constitutional Convention went back to work with a conciliatory spirit and on September 17, 1787 the final vote was taken and the Constitution approved.

        On April 9, 1789 the Constitutional Congress met for the first time. The spirit of Franklin was enacted as the first item on the agenda was the appointment of two chaplains, one for the House and one for the Senate, both salaried by funds from the national treasury.

        Prayer gave birth to America. Prayer is needed to sustain America.

Can People in Heaven See People on Earth?

        The Bible does not provide a definitive answer. Interpretations vary on whether their awareness includes seeing specific individuals or events. There are some Scripture passages considered by some to imply they can. There are however no passages indicating the practices are the standard, the norm. One such complex passage in the book of Hebrews where the writer recalls the great men and women of faith who have gone before us and are now in heaven. Then he adds, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). They are not witnesses in the sense of being observers, but as persons whose lives testify of God’s faithfulness. Their lives are examples rather than them being expositors.

        Before going further reflect on the love and good times you had with your heaven residing loved ones. Rejoice in having love with them while they were with you. Accept the fact of your shared love and blessings. Memories are a gift of God to enable us to recall joyous experiences long after our loved ones have departed. Enjoy the memories.   

        I do not want to minimize the grief and sorrow brought about on earth by the “loss” of a loved one even if they are in heaven. Their absence leaves an incomparable void. Time spent thanking the Lord for past experiences helps fill that chasm.

        The concept of people in heaven being preoccupied with people on earth minimizes the glory of heaven. With all that is going on in heaven it is hard to imagine conduct on earth not causing some sorrow for persons in heaven.

        There will be no sickness, no sorrow or sadness in heaven. If people in heaven are occupied with activities on earth there surely would be. Wouldn’t people looking down on their unhappy loved ones be unhappy as a result of their misfortune and misery here?

        Heaven is a place of total happiness and peace. We can be confident that our loved ones who have gone before us into heaven would be disturbed or upset over the evil things happening here on earth shattering the positive image of heaven.

        We tend to get joy out of thinking people see our positive accomplishments, victories, and achievements. If so, would they not also see our defeats, losses, and griefs and be saddened by such?

        The idea that little Billy hit a home run in his Little League baseball game and Pepaw was leaning over a golden rail in heaven cheering for him and bringing him good luck is in no way supported by Scripture. Pepaw was more likely with  the Apostle John and friends talking with Jesus and thanking Him for what He did at Calvary. Rejoice over that or an even more likely similar scenario.

        Heaven is not earthbound life on steroids. It is a totally different state.     Some issues challenge our understanding, but some day “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

The Voices of the Fathers

        This meaningful holiday is a marvelous time to reflect on the opinions of our founders. Hear them speak from their graves.

        “Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon the earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?” – John Quincy Adams, July 4, 1837 Address

        “It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it [the Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution.” — James Madison, The Federalist, No. 37.

        “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government -far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” (James Madison, Russ Walton, Biblical Principles of Importance to Godly Christians [New Hampshire: Plymouth Foundation, 1984], p. 361).

        “God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are a gift of God?” (Thomas Jefferson, “In Love with Eloquence,” p. 30)

        “The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude toward the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf. And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored.” – George Washington

        “We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!” (Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed A Proclamation for National prayer and humiliation.”)

        Ezra Taft Benson was not a founder, but a patriot in the 20th Century. “I support the doctrine of separation of church and state as traditionally interpreted to prohibit the establishment of an official national religion. But this does not mean that we should divorce government from any formal recognition of God. To do so strikes a potentially fatal blow at the concept of the divine origin of our rights, and unlocks the door for an easy entry of future tyranny. If Americans should ever come to believe that their rights and freedoms are instituted among men by politicians and bureaucrats, they will no longer carry the proud inheritance of their forefathers, but will grovel before their masters seeking favors and dispensations — a throwback to the feudal system of the Dark Ages.”

Lest We Forget

        Christians have prayed for years for a spiritual revival. With the election of President Trump many think it has come. Truly a better collective spirit prevails and we are being blessed abundantly. However, spiritually this cannot be considered a spiritual revival.

        Gradually America drifted away from God. Judges 2: 10 grants this graphic insight how in part it happened. “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done in Israel.” Forgetfulness of the Lord’s goodness contributed to the drift.

        In 1602, there were 102 Bible-believing Pilgrims who sailed for these shores aboard the “Mayflower.” In part the compact they signed aboard the “Mayflower” states their purpose as: “Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith…a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia…”

        Later came the Puritans who sailed into Massachusetts Bay to establish what they called a “Biblical commonwealth.”

        The first constitution creating a civil government, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, was created on January 14, 1639, and it stated they acted “to maintain and preserve liberty and purity of the Gospel for our Lord Jesus which we now profess…”

        All of the colonies were founded upon a covenant involving God. William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, wrote, “Unless we are governed by God, we will be ruled by tyrants.”

        Gradually, almost imperceptibly, we have moved away from our roots. This has been very much to our detriment. 

        Now the Lord has been banished from our schools, omitted from our literature, excluded from social circles, and barred from civil affairs. We joke about the sacred, mock the spiritual, neglect His Word, and forsake His will.

        What is the solution for America?  America’s presidential apostle of peace, Woodrow Wilson, said, “Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it is redeemed spiritually. It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the Spirit of Christ and being made free and happy by the practices which spring out of that spirit. Only thus can discontent be driven out and all the shadows lifted from the road ahead.”

        As a nation we need to give heed to the words of George Washington who said, “We can but little hope for the blessing of God if we insult Him by our blasphemies.”

        The Psalmist said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Both Washington and the Psalmist spoke of blessings. One told how blessings could be obtained and the other told how they are lost. The word “blessed” is better understood by modern American mentality when we realize it could be translated “happy.” Do you want it?  You know where you can find it.

The God of Mercies and Comfort

        “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (II Corinthians 1: 3, 4).

        Had we seen Paul at the time he penned this we would be looking at a man  who had every kind of charge against him, weak, dishonored, the preacher of an obscure and fanciful gospel, a visionary, a failure. If he could find in the Lord mercy and comfort under these conditions surely we can.

        Like Paul we often find the Lord’s greatest mercies and our greatest comfort in our jungle of trouble.

        God, in being depicted as the “Father,” is identified thereby as the source of mercy and comfort. He is the “God of all comfort.” It means more than tenderness: it is strength in tenderness, and it is tenderness in strength. It is not a mere palliative, but a curative. It not merely soothes, but heals. Its ministry is not only consolation, but restoration. “Comfort” is “mercy” at work,    

        God is the Father of mercies. The Jews frequently address God in their prayers under the title or character of, “Father of mercies.” The plural number is used partly to show that God is exceeding merciful; He delights in showing mercy.

        The words “all comfort” in this passage come from the ancient Greek word “paraklesis.” The idea behind this word for comfort in the New Testament is always more than soothing sympathy. It has the idea of strengthening, of helping, of making strong. The idea behind this word is communicated by the Latin word for comfort (fortis), which also means “brave.”

        Some people can engage in the pleasures of this world for a time with friends, but they cannot be happy or comfortable with God. Although He declares Himself to be the God of all comfort, they continually complain that they cannot find comfort anywhere; and their sorrowful looks and the doleful tones of their voice show that they are speaking the truth. They are failing to rely on the Lord.

        The Lord comforts us in all our affliction. We are not promised that He will take us out of our suffering, but that He will be right there with us, offering comfort through it all. Note those two words: in and all.

        One purpose in comforting us is that we may comfort others based on our experience and His comfort we experience. It is a “I know how you feel, I felt that way, and I found the Lord as my comforter. He can do the same for you if…” Thus, we become God’s teaching tool. It is His cycle of comfort. Ask yourself what you are doing with the blessings God is giving you.

        Comfort others with the comfort with which you are comforted.