Life, Liberty, Happiness!

July 03, 2017 Monday Message:

This is the July 4^th holiday week, and many people are taking today off as well, making a marvelous 4-day weekend. July 4^th is the day we celebrate our nation’s independence as a sovereign nation. After that date in 1776, the United States of America was no longer under the control of any European country – we became our own entity.

The Declaration of Independence clearly states some of the principles upon which our nation was founded, ‘truths’ that should be ‘self evident.’

‘Endowed by their Creator’ tells us that our founding fathers had knowledge of and a belief in a God, the Creator of all things. They believed that this Creator intended for each person to have certain unalienable God-given rights — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are not optional – they are from God.

The Declaration states that if people are deprived of the rights which the ‘Laws of Nature and Nature’s God’ guarantee, they have the right to rebel and declare their independence, and that’s what the colonies did, becoming the United States of America.

Our country isn’t perfect. Good leaders come and go, and good policies come and go. But taken as a whole, our country is still a great place to live. As Christians, we can continue to remind our neighbors that this great nation was founded to insure the rights promised by God-the Creator.

Have a safe 4^th – and remember to thank God for our country!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship gathers next Sunday, July 9, 2017, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. See you at church!

We hold these truths...

July 08, 2013 Monday Message:

“We hold these truths to be self evident…” (from the Declaration of Independence)

Last week we looked at the beliefs of our founding fathers, and noted that they based our nation on several axioms, non-negotiable truths that they all accepted. This foundation represents the “character” or the “value system” of our nation, and our laws stand on these principles.

The Declaration of Independence states that we were “endowed by our creator…,” which tells me that they all believed in a Creator-God. He wasn’t Methodist, Presbyterian or Catholic - He was simply GOD-the-creator, and while the founders may have had denominational differences, they all agreed on basing the new nation on a Creator-God.

Therefore everything that happens in our government should be looked at through the lens of the existence of a Creator-God: “Is this proposal good or bad – what does the Bible say about it? What does God say about it? Is our country operating in such a way that we have preserved God’s rights for His people, and ensured a continuing place for His church?”

Well, that was then, and this is now. It’s no secret that church attendance has been decreasing year after year, and many Christian teachers refer to the United States as a “Post-Christian” country. The non-negotiable axioms of our fathers may not be relevant to many in the current generation. And if our current government leaders do not look to a Creator-God as the founders intended, then I ask, “On what do we now base our country’s value system, or do we even have one?” We live in interesting times.

“The times, they are a-changin’.” Bob Dylan

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday at 10:30am in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This Sunday, July 14, Jesus calls out the Pharisees, Luke 11:37-54. See you at church!

NL