Tag: Americans

Deepest Blue

Never before in our history has one group sought to cast aside our Constitution as strongly as those who label themselves ‘Progressives” nor has there ever been, in our history one President so inflated of ego, bewitched by socialism, and so flagrant at dismissing the rule of law by which he is to govern.

 

There is something to be said for bright sunshine across a frozen field covered in snow. The brightness of the white is brighter than ever before and the blue of the sky is the deepest blue, so deep that you feel like it goes on beyond forever. A weather phenomenon, new to me in my nearly sixty years, lies across the frozen field. The weathermen called them snow rollers. They look as though someone started to make a snowman and then after rolling for a little while, gave up and walked away; although there are no footprints near them. The weather folks say that this only occurs when three weather variants come together at the precisely the right moment. The air must be a frosty sub-zero, the snow an exact balance of moisture and snowflakes and just the right cross wind blowing along an open stretch of land. Snow rollers are born! Honestly, they do not do much after they are born, they just sit there in the field, looking like the bottom of a snowman someone gave up on! Some of the larger farm fields around here this week have hundreds of these round wonders and some are quite large! If the gods of Mount Olympus decided to have a snowball fight, this is where they would come.

Beyond that dazzling white snow though and those amazing snow rollers, is that amazingly blue sky. The poets call the color, azure. The uniqueness of the name fits the stunning quality of the color. Color is an incredible connection to the senses. It stirs the soul at times and can open the heart to a bravery it never knew it had. Two pictures come to mind when I consider that color. One is on my office wall and shows an eagle majestically perched on a high mountain precipice with that stirring blue behind him to the horizon. Beneath is an edited quote originally from 1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, Stand, Be Strong” is beneath the eagle. The Young’s Literal Translation quotes the actual passage as:  “Watch ye, stand in the faith; be men, be strong.”The next photo I have is included here, also of an eagle, his talons clutching the rock crag as he scans the horizon for danger or sustenance. Below him is the following poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson:

The Eagle

He grasps the crag with crooked hands,

Close to the sun in lowly lands.

Ring’d with the azure world he stands.

Eagle on Summit
Eagle on Summit

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls,

He watches from his mountain walls.

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

At one point in our American history, our forefathers considered the turkey as our national bird. Without disparaging the turkey, I’m glad someone suggested the eagle in her place. The majesty of her, whether in flight or at rest; she is a magnificent creature, strong, valiant and with a great deal of character. Everything we want our nation to be. An old bumper sticker piece of wisdom once said, “It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you are surrounded by turkeys.”

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, they had more than their share of trouble. The Christians of the first century were maligned by the religious East; seen as suspicious by the rough people of the northern regions, particularly the mountain ranges that travel up through what is now Eastern Europe and Central Asia; and the Christians were hated by the decadent Romans who controlled the world with their vast armies; corrupt officials and cruel provincial governors. It was wise for Paul to solicit them to be watchful, standing in their faith, and strong of character. Americans as a people and Christians who are also Americans should be able to empathize with the Corinthians and we should heed Paul’s words, perhaps now more than ever in our history.

The shadow of ungodly Communism and Socialism is being cast across this nation from Washington D.C. and westward. Never before in our history has one group sought to cast aside our Constitution as strongly as those who label themselves ‘Progressives” nor has there ever been, in our history one President so inflated of ego, bewitched by socialism, and so flagrant at dismissing the rule of law by which  he is to govern. A popular quote of unknown origin, simply states that “All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” This, my fellow Christians and my fellow Americans is NOT the time to do nothing. Rather, we must ‘Watch’ – keep aware of what the enemies of freedom and democracy, of our very Republic are doing; stand in Faith – knowing that God is on His throne, He is holy and righteous and will not be mocked, we should bow in repentance before Him; be men – men of character who stand for values, who lead their families, who work hard and pray harder; be strong – strong in the Lord, living in His strength, fighting the good fight with the Gospel armor in place, the Word upon our hearts and a prayer upon our lips.

Barack Hussein Obama will not be the cause of the fall of America, if she falls. Good Americans who did nothing will be to blame. What do you choose your legacy to be?

A phrase first known to be used in 1650 to describe someone as faithful and devoted is – True Blue. When we look upon that amazing sky that God has provided over us, may we recommit ourselves to be true to our faith, our families, and our country.

Americans: a peculiar people

  www.docross.com Dr. Ross L. Riggs The Ministry Minute: When there’s only a minute for ministry.

     And then there were few… yet they still stood strong. The general’s huge army could be seen for miles across the dusty desert. The dust that rose up to meet the nostrils of the hundreds of horses covered the horizon with a thick darkness, foretelling the gloom that was to come. It is not difficult to imagine the few conversations between the men left to guard the small mission outpost. They knew their role was to delay the northward march of Santa Anna’s army in his desire to retrieve, for his country Mexico, land that would become ‘the Lone Star State’. Those who stayed were volunteers. They knew they were certain to die. Their death scene would become a place of honor, a crypt of sorts, a monument to something awe-inspiring. Certainly, to this day, it is a place where visitors are asked to remain respectfully quiet to honor the brave deeds of those whose last breath was the same dust caking the Mexican army horses’ nostrils. If one could ask those men, in those last moments, if they had the chance to decide all over again whether they would agree to stay, there is no doubt that they would. After all, those Americans are a peculiar people.

The air was more turbulent than calm this morning as their flight gained altitude coming up from the tarmac briskly to make room for the next waiting jet filled with commuters ready to begin their day. It was only a handful of time, really, not enough time upon which to decide about a lifetime; but in that handful of minutes, the world changed, each person on that flight was about to share a destiny with the men of that desert mission over a hundred years before. These folks had not volunteered to die heroes’ deaths, to wait out the on-coming attack for hours as the brave men of the Alamo had done. Theirs’ was a destiny thrust upon them; but one from which they did not recoil. Their actions were also needed to hold off an enemy and not allow him a victory strike against their homeland.  When their time came to give everything they had, and to die as one; in a manner no modern day group of civilian patriots had ever done, their response was “Let’s roll.” After all, those Americans are a peculiar people.  

e pluribus omnibus pecularus

In a non-descript auditorium, families gathered in the early morning hours to anxiously await their sons. They had gathered from 39 states and two foreign countries across both the Atlantic and the Pacific to spend a very short 36 hours with their sons. There was no fancy celebration, no glory-filled pomp; just young men, finishing a phase of their training with a chance for a short break before returning to their task. Every single one of the young men who had spent two and a half months in the grueling Georgia sun and survived sleepless nights in between times of rigorous training were volunteers. Those hundreds of men were joining thousands who before them had crossed these same sandy training fields to prepare to go against ‘all enemies, foreign and domestic’ and every one of these soldiers, a volunteer. After all, those Americans are a peculiar people.

One time, not too long ago, there rose up among the American people, a politician (and they defined ‘politician’ with all the bad taste the culture had come to expect). The people elected this politician as President. He told some who would listen that Americans were not exceptional, not much different, if at all, than those in the rest of the world. He approached the enemies of the American people and sought to be their friends. He traveled to a nation in a faraway land where the dreams of democracy are not respected and people are not treated as they should, and this President got down to his knees and bowed in homage to a king who does not care for the citizens of America. This politician-President found no reason to respect the citizens who sacrifice by becoming soldiers or who place themselves in harm’s way for others in so many ways. His ‘first-lady’ declared that she had not found any reason to be proud of America. Both she and her politician husband refused to neither salute the flag of their country nor appreciate its anthem. Perhaps the people who voted for this politician-President thought he would make a difference, and many say he has, though not in a good way. But, most of America holds out hope and seeks to correct their mistake in a legal and bloodless way through the voting booth. And still, the volunteers step forth, ready to do whatever it takes to protect this land that they find so exceptional. After all, Americans are a peculiar people. 

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