Thanks

 Thanks to my Uncles -- Millie (Emilio) and Frank and Bob -- who served in WW II and to cousin Victor who served in Viet Nam. All of them survived the wars and lived to further honor their families by the lives they lived. All of them are now with JESUS.

Your DUTY As a Citizen

 Below this post is Daniel Webster's definition of duty as well as the quotes of several famous men on the subject of duty.

We have just celebrated MEMORIAL DAY with our family gatherings and our cookouts, but if we have not retained in our minds the reason for this day being set aside, we have neglected our duty as a free people.

This comes as a small thank you to those who serve in our military -- those whose duty it is to fight and die if necessary to keep our nation and its people free.

It comes with enormous gratitude to those who have given their lives in the wars that have been fought to assure that our GOD given freedom would be maintained.

As has been said to the citizens of this land by many who wear the military uniform:

"MAKE THIS NATION WORTH DYING FOR."

Quote from Abraham Lincoln

 "Neither let us be slandered from our DUTY by false accusations against us ... Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our DUTY."  Abraham Lincoln

Quote from John Quincy Adams

 

"DUTY is ours; results are God's."  John Quincy Adams

Quote from Charles Finney

 "Politics are a part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their DUTY to the country as a part of their DUTY to God.  It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the nation were becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics.  But I tell you, He does see it, and He will bless or curse this nation, according to the course they take."  Charles Finney

Quote from Daniel Webster

 

"This love of religious liberty ... made up of the clearest sense of right and the highest conviction of DUTY, is able to look the sternest despotism in the face, and, with means apparently most inadequate, to shake principalities and powers.  There is a boldness, a spirit of daring ... If the hand of power be laid upon it, this only seems to augment its force ... Nothing can forcefully restrain it when it breaks forth.  Nothing can stop it."                                         Daniel Webster

Quote from Horatio Nelson

 "Thank God I have done my duty."  Admiral Horatio Nelson

Quote from Samuel Langdon

"If ... servants of the public forget their DUTY, betray their trust and sell their country, or make war against the most valuable rights and privileges of the people ... THEY SHOULD BE DISCARDED, and others appointed in their room."  

                                                   Samuel Langdon

Quote from James Madison

 "It is the DUTY OF ALL NATIONS to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor."  

                                                                       James Madison

Quote from George Washington

 "The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; yet, without presumptuously waiting for miracles to be wrought in our favor, IT IS OUR INDISPENSABLE DUTY, with the deepest gratitude to Heaven for the past, and humble confidence in its smiles on our future operations, to make use of all the means in our power for our defense and security."  George Washington

Definition of "Duty"

DUTY

"That which a person owes to another; that which a person is bound, by any natural, moral or legal obligation, to pay, do or perform."   Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MEMORIAL DAY

 MEMORIAL DAY

Remember what you're celebrating!

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

—Abraham Lincoln

Honor Those Who Serve

 Honor Those Who Serve by Bill Wilson

Some time ago, I was re-watching the movie “Midway.” Six months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they were trying to set a trap for the US Navy and destroy it. The American commanders actually set a trap of their own and the highly outnumbered US forces won a decisive victory. I am always humbled by the selfless and heroic efforts made by the World War II generation. They sacrificed their lives for something they believed was bigger than them. They knew the value of family; the power of God; and that life and liberty was foundational to being an American, and it was worth fighting for. They were defined by their courage and character, their dedication to what was right and good. For me, Memorial Day was always a solemn day first, and a day of great celebration second. Growing up, our 4-H horse club always participated in the Memorial Day Parade that wound through Rootstown, Ohio and ended up at the cemetery. There, we faced the graves of those who served their country, many who died that we might live free. Our horses were to stand at attention, and we were to sit on them, also at attention, our hats removed, as the speakers honored America’s finest. Afterwards, we would load up the horses and head back to the farm, where we had a cookout, usually with Warren and Sue McCarthy, Gene and Betty Flynn, Bob and Doris Harris and their families. Warren and Gene served on D-Day. They survived it. And they were decorated war heroes. Not much of what they did was ever discussed. But you somehow knew that they were special. My dad, who was a farmer during the war, was best friends with these men. He knew what went on, but would never say. They were among the finest men I knew growing up.  My uncle Bob Harris served in the Philippines. There were times when he had flashbacks. My dad would get a call from my aunt and he would find Uncle Bob, talk him down and hold him until the terror passed. He, too, was a decorated hero. All these men knew the price of freedom and they understood their civic duty to their families, their God and their country. I’m sure you have stories as well about the brave men and women who served in our nation’s armed forces. President Ronald Reagan remembered veterans in his speech May 26, 1986. He said, “If we really care about peace, we must stay strong. If we really care about peace, we must, through our strength, demonstrate our unwillingness to accept an ending of the peace. We must be strong enough to create peace where it does not exist and strong enough to protect it where it does.” To me, there will never be peace on earth until the Lord returns. Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Many have sacrificed themselves that we may have peace and freedom. Let us honor their deeds.

Lest We Forget

 

Lest We Forget by Dr. D. James Kennedy

Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

— 2 Corinthians 3:17

Memorial Day is a time to remember those brave men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Tragically, hundreds of millions of people do not live in liberty. Ironically, freedom is something that is easily taken for granted. It is like the air we breathe. It is not until it is gone that we even think about it.

John Adams, our second president, made a declaration to future years, saying this: “Posterity: You will never know how much it has cost my generation to procure your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”

One great truth that Americans have forgotten, I believe, is that the source of liberty comes from only one place: it comes from God; it has come from Christ, who alone can make people free. Wherever the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ with its emphasis upon grace and the Cross has been preached, it has been followed by civil and political liberty.

Would that the flame of freedom and liberty that burned so brightly in the hearts of our founders be fanned into a flame again in America. This Memorial Day is a good time to begin.

Higher Prices

 

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5 Restaurant Chains That Raised Their Prices the Most

Encourage Each Other

 

Encourage Each Other by Dr. D. James Kennedy

…strengthening the minds of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith, to go through many afflictions and thus enter the kingdom of God.

— Acts 14:22

Probably few of you would know who the New Testament character Joseph of Cyprus was. But you probably would recognize him if I used the other name given to him: Barnabas, meaning the “Son of Consolation,” or the “Son of Encouragement”. That was his name and he was famous for comforting other people. Does anyone like that come to your mind?

I know a Christian who is always encouraging others. I cannot think of this individual without thinking of the fact that this man is an overflowing reservoir of comfort. He is always concerned about other people and about their difficulties and trials. You would never find out about his trials because he was so concerned about others. He is a blessing and benediction to all who know him. He is truly a Barnabas, a son of consolation.

Go out and be a blessing as you encourage someone this day.

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day in America, as an annual observance, can be traced back to the end of the Civil War, a war in which over a half-million died. Southern women scattered spring flowers on graves of both northern Union and southern Confederate soldiers. Download as PDF ...

American Minute-Notable Events of American Significance Remembered on the Date They Occurred

Many places claimed to have held the original Memorial Day, such as: Warrenton, Virginia; Columbus, Georgia; Savannah, Georgia; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Waterloo, New York.

One such place was Charleston, South Carolina, where a mass grave was uncovered of 257 Union soldiers who had died in a prison camp. On May 1, 1865, former slaves organized a parade, led by 2,800 singing black children, in which they prayed, read Bible verses, sang spirituals, and reburied the soldiers with honor as an act of gratefulness for their ultimate sacrifice which gave them freedom.

In 1868, General John A. Logan, commander of the Civil War veterans' organization "The Grand Army of the Republic," called for a Decoration Day to be observed annually on May 30.

President James Garfield's only executive order was in 1881 where he gave government workers May 30th off so they could decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War.

In 1921, President Warren Harding had the remains of an unknown soldier killed in France during World War I buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery.

Inscribed on the Tomb is the phrase: "HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD." Since 1921, it has been the tradition for Presidents to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The number 21 being the highest salute, the sentry takes 21 steps, faces the tomb for 21 seconds, turns and pauses 21 seconds, then retraces his steps.

On Memorial Day, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge stated: "There can be no peace with the forces of evil. Peace comes only through the establishment of the supremacy of the forces of good. That way lies through sacrifice ... 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'"  John 15:13

If You Take Away Religion

 If You Take Away Religion by William Federer

On February 8, 2011, Harvard Professor Clay Christensen, the Robert & Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, observed: “Sometime ago I had a conversation with a Marxist economist from China. He was coming to the end of a Fulbright Fellowship here in Boston, and I asked him if he had learned anything that was surprising or unexpected. And without any hesitation he said 'Yes, I had no idea how critical religion is to the functioning of democracy ...'"

Christensen continued: "'The reason why democracy works,' he said, 'is not because the government was designed to oversee what everybody does. But rather democracy works because most people, most of the time, voluntarily choose to obey the law. And in your past, most Americans attended a church or synagogue every week. And they were taught there by people who they respected.'

... My friend went on to say that 'Americans followed these rules because they had come to believe that they weren't just accountable to society, they were accountable to God.'" Professor Christensen continued: "My Chinese friend heightened a vague but nagging concern I harbored inside that as religion loses its influence over the lives of Americans, what will happen to our democracy?

... Where are the institutions that are going to teach the next generation of Americans that they too need to voluntarily choose to obey the laws? Because "If you take away religion, you cannot hire enough police.”