"One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts." Psalm 145:4

I attended a Fourth of July parade for the first time in several years this past Monday. It was a great parade except for the fact out of all the participation there was only one truck that lifted up America as a Christian nation encouraging people to take back our nation and declare our need to return to the word of God. This wasn’t a float representing any churches, but it was an individual citizen who believed God was important enough to be included in the Fourth of July parade whose foundation was religious freedom to worship the one true God, the Creator of men. Has anyone read the Declaration of Independence to their children lately? Do they know it is more than fireworks, parades, and a day off? The Declaration of Independence that many gave all they owned and their lives for states three basic ideas: God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The main business of the government that was formed was to protect these rights. Individuals have a civic duty to defend these rights for themselves and others. They got their ideas from the Bible. It isn’t just a great history book; it is the Words of God. Our founding fathers understood that. The only way you and your children will know that is to read original writings from the founding fathers themselves.

For decades now our children have been taught out of revised history books full of lies. It is to our shame that we have not valued truth enough in our society to learn it ourselves and pass it on to our children. We have long forgotten what really matters in life. Our children have lost their way, because we have allowed others to do what we as parents and grandparents are responsible for, and that is to see they are taught the truth. We need God as our Father. Our children need to know they were created with a void only God Himself can fill in their lives. They must know there is One who created all things and is all knowing. He is perfected love, and He is holy and righteous. Man must know their Creator to thrive.

I was quite taken by Psalm 145 this week as I read how David unashamedly praised and exalted our God. I sifted my own life through this Psalm, and repented for not exalting my Lord nearly enough each day. He is the greatest thing we have to offer one another, and somehow we are afraid to speak of the goodness of our God to others. If you truly know Him and know you have the truth within you how can we remain silent in our nation and act as though He no longer exist? Where are the Christians? How can that big of crowd attend a parade and not wonder where the churches were, and why we are not taking such a great opportunity to exalt the God of our nation’s history?

I grew up here, and I remember the Christmas parades would be filled with church floats lifting up the true meaning of Christmas. When my own family was quite young I took my four young children to a Christmas parade just outside of Raleigh where we were living at the time. As we stood watching I was devastated not one float represented the true meaning of Christmas. I was so deeply grieved for God’s sake and my children’s, I vowed to the Lord if He let me live till the next Christmas there would be one. The next year there was a float declaring Him King of Kings, and Lord of Lord’s, and had the manger scene at one end and the cross of Christ at the other. The response was amazing! Our float ended up on the front page of the newspaper with a caption, "The True Meaning of Christmas!" I wept when I saw it. It is amazing how He took our meager efforts and allowed us to glorify Him and get the true meaning of Christmas to so many.

It is up to us as individuals. Stop looking to the government that is no longer for the people, by the people, or of the people. Our leaders no longer desire our sovereign nation or the godly principles that made us great. America is great, when America aligns itself with the Word of God it was founded on. For those of us who know truth and believe it, we must proclaim it. We carry the Spirit of the One true God within us! How can we not share Him? David opens Psalm 145 with these verses:

"I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable."

Let us purpose in our hearts to follow David’s example. As we do so people will see the goodness of our God! They will see the truth of His character. Have we praised the works He has done in our lives to our children and grandchildren? Have we taken the time to tell them of the mighty works He does daily for us as individuals? How different our society would be if we would return to our God with all our hearts as mothers and fathers and grandparents, and be diligent about teaching our children the truth about who God really is. I will close with verses I clung to when I had small ones in my home and still do today:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and daughters, and shall talk of them when you sit in your houses and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:4-6

May God open our hearts and minds to understand the greatest responsibility we must fulfill in our children’s lives is to declare His mighty works and His character in order for them to have happy, fulfilled lives with eternal purpose. Remember, we cannot give what we ourselves do not possess.
In His love.

Teresa Roberts

Masterpiece Fitness

www.masterpiecefitness.com

276-237-6680

As I spent a day running trails up in the Grayson Highland this week, these verses in Psalm 145:9-10 became a reality for me.

"The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, and Your godly ones shall bless you."