Tag Archives: Civil War

In God we still trust

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We have a guest on the blog today! The Sweetheart, a.k.a. Douglas Elkins, has written a timely piece, In God we still trust. You can follow him on his website, Revival By Design, or on twitter! Be blessed and share with someone who needs encouragement!

The motto In God We Trust, was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment that existed during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury at the time, Salmon P. Chase, received many appeals from devout people throughout the country urging that the U.S. recognize the Creator. From Treasury Department records it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. Written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M.R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, it read in part:

“You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of our national finances. One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.

You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were shattered beyond reconstruction? Wouold not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the all-seeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW….This would place  us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed…”

Secretary Chase then instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint, to prepare a motto. It was discovered that an Act of Congress, dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that should be placed on the coins. This meant that the Mint could not make any changes without the enactment of additional legislation by Congress. The new proposal would inscribe OUR COUNTRY; OUR GOD or GOD, OUR TRUST as the motto on the coins. Secretary Chase then sent another letter on December 9, 1863 adding:

I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the Washington obverse the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. And on that with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST.

IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin.

Congress went even further in 1956 when the President Eisenhower approved a Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress declaring IN GOD WE TRUST as the national motto of the United States of America.

Over the past several months, Americans have found less and less that we are able to put our trust in. Politicians, world leaders, financial analysts, the media, and ever-looming terrorism all give us cause to worry about the state of our country and the world. It would certainly be easy to get caught up in the doom, gloom and despair of our current plight.

But I have encouragement for you today:

My trust is not in Wall Street.
It’s not in a 401K, my financial advisor, Citibank, Wells Fargo or any other financial institution.
My trust is not in my president, my congressmen or governor.
My trust is not even in the hope of a new leader that would change everything and make it all “better”.
My trust is in the God of all creation who is my salvation. My trust is in the One who will still be standing long after this world has passed away.

I have been investing in a system with benefits that are secured and never in need of a bailout or a handout.

  • For Abraham…this system provided a ram when it looked as if it would cost him a son
  • For Joseph…this system provided a promotion when it life in prison was imminent
  • For the Israelites…this system provided an escape when it looked like certain death
  • For the disciples…this system provided sudden peace when it seemed as if the storm would win
  • For Mary and Martha…this system provided a fiesta when they were planning a funeral.

David, the young, ruddy teenager, found himself facing a giant in Goliath. An entire Israelite army was cowering and unable to stand against him. Yet, this young man, armed with an old piece of leather and five smooth stones, accepted the challenge.

Why?

Because he was invested. He knew he could trust in his God!

“David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” 1 Samuel 17:37.

His God had delivered him from the lion and the bear and had anointed him to be king.

David trusted in his God.

Remember the widow woman in the book of 1 Kings. She had just enough oil and flour for one last meal for her and her son. Yet, when she put the kingdom of God first, when she honored God with her first fruits: “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17: 15-16.

She made an investment.

She trusted in God.

She honored God.

She put God first and He came through!

It is this kind of trust, complete and unconditional that when all around us is failing…

  • When the market plunges
  • The banks fail
  • The bottom falls out of the housing market
  • The unemployment rate rises like a rocket
  • Our money fails
  • Our health goes bad
  • Even if we lose everything we have
  • Even if it costs us our lives…

We can hold to the words of Job: “…yet will I trust in HIM…” because He is trustworthy!

Do you trust Him for your provision?

Do you trust Him for your healing?

Do you trust Him for your deliverance?

Do you trust Him for your salvation?

Do you trust Him with your time, your calendar, your schedule?

How about with your checkbook or your talents?

Give your life and your worries to a never-changing God. He alone knows the future, the end from the beginning and we can trust Him.

Enjoy these encouraging scriptures and share with someone who needs to know that we can still trust God!

“O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me…” Psalm 7:1

“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:10

“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2

And this version is from the TLB: “The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull. All I need to do is cry to him-oh, praise the Lord- and I am saved from all my enemies!” Psalms 18:2-3 TLB.

In God we still trust!

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For this we give You thanks…

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 “Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year, & then discover once a year is way too often.” ~Johnny Carson

When President Abraham Lincoln declared the first Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, his hope was that we would remember the Giver of all good things. We were in the middle of a Civil War but he still found something to be thankful for in his proclamation when he took note of the “blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies”, saying, “They are gracious gifts of the Most High God.”

We all have much to be thankful for as we close out 2013. Several weeks ago I hosted a survey at the end of my posts asking YOU to answer three questions.

  1. Something God has done for you in 2013, what you are most thankful for.
  2. What you want to see accomplished in your spiritual walk in 2014.
  3. How you and your family will be celebrating the Thanksgiving Holiday, if at all.

As usual, you did not disappoint! Overwhelmed by the response, I quickly realized that even though many had experienced difficult seasons this year, unemployment, sickness or loss; they still found reason to give thanks and praise to almighty God, the Giver!

I thought I would share some of them with you today and tomorrow. Thursday you will be too busy to think of Hope in the Healing! I hope you enjoy. They have certainly blessed me! Then at the end, please add your own!

thanksgiving hopeinthehealing

Beth writes at Messy Marriages, a wonderful resource for anyone that has a significant other! She is most grateful for the group of women who regularly meet to pray for their marriages. They have seen God’s faithfulness through this effort and His blessing in their marriages!

There were awesome friends and readers like Amy @walkhumblywithgod, that said 2013 brought them the ability to forgive themselves. I was especially blessed by that! The top Google search phrase on my blog is any combination of the following: “If God forgives me, why can’t I forgive myself?” And of course I wrote a post on that several months ago, which is why they keep showing up on my doorstep thankfully. I hope it helps in some small way. I only wish they would let me know they were here.

Elisabeth has much to be thankful for this year! She says God showed her a clear path to some health issues she was having and through that they are now expecting their 8th child, which should make its presence known sometime in January. Praise God!

Patricia, of Pollywog Creek, says He has constantly proved His faithfulness to her this past year.

For Joan, at The Beauty in His Grip, she readily confesses there is so much to be thankful for it’s hard to pin it down to one thing but she chose her husband of 32 years, her best friend. I think she chose wisely, don’t you?

My new friend, Joseph, in Kenya, reports that the Lord helped him to overcome some challenges this year. He has exciting news to share of their work in his area: “Indeed He is a wonderful God! We had also asked Him to allow us to go out and minister His gospel of grace and peace to all at the beginning of the year. Now that the challenges are behind us, He has placed a busy outreach program upon two of our pastors. One will be going to Banita this coming Sunday, and Eldoret, end of the month. Our young pastor will be going to Kericho or Kisii on the 26th. He has also hinted to us about wanting us to open another church about 30 km’s away. We regret that God seems to have had much programs lined for us this year but had to patiently wait for the challenges we had to ease off. Hopefully at the end of the year we’ll file a very successful report back to Him.”

Joseph, I believe God is already pleased! You need have no regrets my friend!

I am so thrilled for my friend Barbie whose husband was blessed with a job recently after three years of unemployment! I can’t imagine how difficult this has been on them financially, emotionally and even spiritually…let me re-phrase that. I think I have the last part figured out. Barbie always gives God praise in ALL THINGS. So even when things were not going her way, even when she did not understand and probably said so, she still gave God praise. He supplied their NEEDS, maybe not their WANTS, but their NEEDS! She shares her story here at My Freshly Brewed Life. Go there! 

1383396_10201339939638251_580648672_nThis beautiful lady, Cindy, who attends Turning Point Church with me, was recently spared a major heart attack! September 23 of this year she had quite a scare but the Lord stepped in and she is doing just fine today. She is giving God the glory!

Sharon is most thankful for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law! She deems her “precious” and is eagerly awaiting the wedding of her oldest son. Congratulations Sharon! I only have one DIL and she is the “little girl I never had”. Be blessed!

Cindy has the most gorgeous blog, Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home; she shares so many beautiful pictures and ideas on her site. She writes that the Lord blessed her by allowing her daughter, son-in-law, AND their PUPS to stay with her while their house was being built! She loved having them and I can imagine they loved being with Cindy; and I am guessing those pups had a great time exploring this house. You are one cool Mom!

I love how Angel summed up her thanks for 2013:

“I am thankful for God’s healing and provision for our needs and most of all for mercy.”

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 She is always Finding the Inspiring.

I could not have said it better Angel.

One reader who just came back to the Lord said it this way, and I just love it, “Being thankful.  What an understatement.  Not only has God brought me through a very hard time in my life,  He has led me straight back to the Church.  He is showing me the truth and blessing me daily.”

Tomorrow we will share some of  our hopes for 2014 and how we will be spending Thanksgiving. I have a few thoughts to share of my own.

Now, how about you? What are you most thankful for this past year?
What has the Lord kept you from or brought you through that you know without a shadow of a doubt He alone had a hand in it?
Has He healed your physical body?
Touched your mind?
Provided a financial need?
Brought home a prodigal?
Sent comfort when it was needed?
Sharing with us today might just be the encouragement someone else is looking for.
Have a blessed Tuesday!

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