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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Dare to Believe   CURRENT TV SERIES Dare to Believe

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. --Genesis 12:2-3 On this special day when we remember all the brave men and women who have given their lives to ensure the freedom that you and I enjoy, I’d like to talk briefly about how we as Christians are to respond to the blessings God has bestowed upon our country. This response can be summarized in the acrostic of the word patriot: P stands for pray.  We’re to pray for our nation, our leaders, and for those whose minds and hearts are blinded and seduced by the god of this age. A stands for accept.  You and I are to accept the responsibilities of citizenship, which includes paying taxes and voting. T stands for the word treat.  Each of us is to treat our freedom with care because it was bought with a price. R stands for resist.  Resist the temptation to trade spiritual values for material values.  Remember that God is interested in your character more than your money! I stands for identify.  We’re to identify places where we can make a positive difference in our community. O stands for overcome.  You and I should overcome acts of evil with acts of grace, kindness, and goodness. T stands for thank.  We need to thank God regularly for our salvation and for the privilege of living life in this God-blessed nation. It is my prayer that the Lord would help you become a patriot for the Lord Jesus Christ today! Thank God for the privilege of living in this God-blessed nation

A Value of Remembrance

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2

On Memorial Day in 1913, a small group of aged survivors from both the Union and Confederate armies met in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the decisive battle of the Civil War. The main speaker, Representative James Heflin of Alabama, acknowledged the deep divisions that had once torn the nation apart and celebrated the reunited America. Heflin said, “As a token of the spirit of fraternal love now permeating the hearts of our people, I bring you a floral offering from the garden of Dixie, one for the grave of the soldier in blue and the other for the grave of the soldier in gray. The sublime valor of the heroes of both armies is the priceless heritage of all.”
As Christians, we have an amazing heritage left to us by the men and women who have followed Jesus before us. Their lives and their stories are meant to be an encouragement and inspiration as we face the battles and challenges of our days. We must never forget the lessons of the past, because if we do, those who come after us will not have the vital tool of godly example and influence. “And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel” (Joshua 24:31).
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

The example of Christians of the past should inspire us to more closely follow Christ day after day.