A Real Citizen - Acts 22:28

Acts 22:28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. (NIV)

(Reading about Paul’s ancient rights as a Roman citizen in today’s passage stimulated these thoughts which I think need to be expressed, read, and pondered.)

Twenty-five years ago, our family came to Knoxville for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. We had always wanted to see America, so when we were given the opportunity of swapping pulpits for six weeks with a pastor in South Knoxville, we jumped at the chance. Little did we know that God was moving in mysterious ways and turning our vacation into a lifelong vocation.

In 2002, Evelyn and I became naturalized citizens, and our daughters were granted this honor two years later. It was our way of saying, “thank you,” to the many people who had welcomed, befriended, and supported us at Erin church. It also gave us the wonderful privilege of being able to vote in national elections for the very first time, as well as living freely under the liberties granted to us by the Constitution. Even though we were not born here, our citizenship gave us the same rights as all who were.

Recently, though, those blessings seem to have changed and we wonder if we are now second-class citizens. Immigrant-citizens like us are now cautious about speaking out about injustice or criticizing government policies. We are inwardly fearful of expressing our right of free speech in case it interferes with our citizenship status; we are silent because our accents are a dead give away that we come from somewhere else other than the United States. This saddens me deeply because our family happily became citizens almost two decades ago. People like us are now afraid of being told to ‘go back to our own country’ simply because we may disagree with what’s happening in America today.

Last week, Evelyn and I were in Washington D.C. for a short trip. We visited all the wonderful places in and around that remarkable city – the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon, and even stood outside the Whitehouse. We also went to the National Archive Museum to look at the actual Declaration of Independence, as well as Lincoln’s handwritten Emancipation Act. Those are sacred documents which every American citizen – born or naturalized – should see at least once in their lives. We both came away from seeing those manuscripts with a sense of awe, but also with a brand-new determinism to be patriotic Americans and speak out against injustice, corruption, and intolerance wherever and whenever we come across them. We are, after all, citizens of the United States and have equal rights to do this as real Americans, which is how God truly blesses America.

Point to ponder

What rights of citizenship are most sacred to me? What rights from God are given to everyone?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are just pilgrims passing through this world until we reach Your Heavenly Realm. Remind us that we all belong to You, so we should treat one another with the same love and grace You personally grant to us. In Your Holy Name, we freely and faithfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the Scottish pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and join us for worship on Sundays at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome, no matter who you are or where you’re from. 😊

Today’s image is one of John’s patriotic drawings called “Liberty Lights.” If you would like to see a larger version, please click this link: Liberty.

FREEDOM!

No matter who wins today, I am so proud of how many Americans are turning out to vote. Democracy and freedom are big winners today. It truly is a time when we can say , "God bless America."

And just for your enjoyement, here's the Freedom speech from Braveheart

God's Fireworks Display

To a Scotsman, finding a thistle blooming in my backyard on July 4 is just as lucky as an Irishman finding a four leaved clover on St. Pat's.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight! Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day Devotional

Of all the special days on the American calendar, I love Independence Day the most. I guess that as a free born Scotsman, whose leaders like William Wallace and Robert the Bruce fought and died for liberty, I appreciate the Great American Struggle to win independence for themselves. It was not an easy choice to make, nor was it an easy cause to fulfill. Without commitment and dedication, patience and perseverance, unity and determination, liberty would never have been won.

Psalm 18:49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;I will sing praises to your name.

We forget that they took on the strongest army in the world. We don’t appreciate the magnitude of the struggle. It was like David versus Goliath on an international scale and the rocks inside the slingshot, which fortified the Revolution, were called Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

I sometimes wonder if the revolutionaries really understood what they were accomplishing. Most of them fought for their families and colonies. It was a question of survival against the mightiest power on earth. When the War was over and their new Nation was recognized, I wonder if they really knew what the consequences would be. Their gutsy decisions, haphazard victories, and loyalty to the cause engendered a new beginning for the whole world. They showed every nation on earth that the God given right to be free is the greatest force and noblest quality that humanity can ever experience.

The writer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, once wrote “The God who gave us life…also gave us liberty.” In my opinion, that is one of the most truthful statements ever written in the annals of human history.

So today, I will celebrate this precious day by thanking God for the United States, its people, and its freedoms. I will remind myself of the costs and causes of the past, as well as the responsibilities that our liberties lay upon us today as free citizens. All of these blessings are God given rights which we need to cherish and continue to spread throughout the world. After all, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness should be blessings that every child, woman, and man should know and experience all over this planet.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for the courage and wisdom of those who established this nation. We are humbled by their achievements and blessed by their accomplishments. Help us to cherish this day with our families and friends, our neighbors and people. Let freedom ring throughout this nation and across the entire world. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today's message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Founding Faith

Most Americans can quote Patrick Henry's famous statement, "Give me liberty or give me death," but I wonder how many of them would identify Henry as the originator of this statement: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."

People these days are very quick to point out Jefferson's wall of separation' letter to a Danbury Baptist Church meant that Christianity had no place in the heart of the writer of the Declaration , but are they aware of what is written in Jefferson's personal Bible: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our creator." To say that Christianity had no influence over his writing is to diminish Jefferson's personal faith.

Verse of the Day
Numbers 14:40b "We will go up to the place the LORD promised."

And do people also realize that more than half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who founded the United States, received divinity school training from Christian denominations? We may want to rewrite history and revise the Founding Fathers' intentions to suit our modernistic, non-absolutist, secular morality, but the facts about their lives speak otherwise. Most of the political giants who founded America were Christians, and their faith shaped their principles of fierce independence and rugged radicalism. In fact, in 1774 Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The God who gave us Life, also gave us Liberty."

Indeed, the First Continental Congress during the War of Independence sent for an order from Holland for 20,000 Bibles to ensure that the people and troops could maintain their Christian faith. And during times of trouble and indecision in their meetings, the same Congress resorted to prayer, which the ‘non-believer' Benjamin Franklin also led.

Even George Washington, the Father of our Nation, wrote this in his personal journal in 1752: "Make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith, and repentance, increase my faith, and direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life." And when he addressed the Delaware Indian Chiefs in 1779, he said, "What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ."

These are but a few examples of the Christian beliefs that were held by our Founding Fathers. Those who seek to deny their faith and, subsequently, the founding of the United States of America as a Christian nation, are only imprinting upon the past their own present secular opinions and unhistorical misconceptions.

Finally, let us remember that the Constitution guarantees a freedom of religion, not from religion. It wasn't political secularism that established this clause: it was based on Christian tolerance of loving one another, and doing to others as you would have them do for you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for being the major influence over our Founding Fathers’ lives. Without Your words and ways, we would not be here today. Help us to be grateful for the land that we live in and the liberties that we cherish, both of which have been granted to us from You. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.