Good morning, friends…It’s 4:30 am, and I hopped out of bed today filled with joy. I’m still sky-high from the awesome July 4th concert presented by the Saint Louis Wind Symphony yesterday at the Foundry Arts Center in St. Charles, MO. Now before you get too hung up on the fact it isn’t even July yet, it has been our tradition for the past six years to do this concert the Sunday before July 4th to kick-off the celebration activities planned throughout St. Charles county. It works for us!! We had a large, enthusiastic audience, and the wind symphony was at their superlative best…awesome, great, intense, filled with musical enthusiasm, etc. etc. What a privilege to be part of such a great organization.
I originally had another thought in mind for today’s blog, but since I’m still filled with yesterday’s spirit, I decided to write about what we celebrated yesterday. America! Land of the free and home of the brave.
I love America. I believe in America. I believe that even with all its issues and short-comings today, America is still the greatest country the world has ever seen. And when I think of the men and women who stepped up to serve in the Armed Forces in times of peril, many who never returned home to their families or loved ones, I always get a lump in my throat and a sense of pride about who “WE” are as Americans. My father served in WW II; I served in the Vietnam Era; and I am enclosing a video clip later that summarizes horrors of war as seen through the eyes of my long time hero, Colonel Arnald Gabriel, who served as a machine-gunner in the infantry in WW II before he became the illustrious conductor of the United States Air Force Band in Washington D.C.
Here is a familiar quote that packs a wallop in its truth. It has been popping up on FB frequently: “The only two people who have ever volunteered to sacrifice their life for the benefit of others were Jesus Christ and the American soldier.” Wow! And what was their common purpose? So that others could be set free or remain free. Jesus’ sacrifice freed us from the bondage of sin; the American soldier’s sacrifice keeps us free from tyranny and oppression, which illuminates the statement, “Freedom isn’t free!”
Jonathan Cahn, messianic Rabbi, history scholar and best-selling author of The Harbinger, makes an interesting observation when he compares our country with ancient Israel. He states, “No doubt Israel was blessed from the beginning: first as a people group because they were descendants of righteous men (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), then later as a nation, delivered from bondage to the most powerful nation at that time – Egypt. God chose to show his power through Israel because it was the smallest and weakest of nations.”
Then he goes on to say, “America was the only other nation to receive such a blessing”. And why was that? Cahn continues his thoughts, “because this was a nation founded on prayer and built on Judeo-Christian principles. Therefore, America would rise to heights no other nation had ever known. Not that it was ever without fault or sin, but America did aspire to fulfill its calling.” And what was that calling, you ask? According to Cahn, “To be a vessel of redemption, an instrument of God’s purposes, a light to the world. It would give refuge to the world’s poor and needy, and hope to its oppressed. It would stand against tyranny. It would fight, more than once, against the dark movements of the modern world that threatened to engulf the earth”.
In the Book of Revelation, the beast revealed in chapter 13:11-18 symbolizes America. The United States declared its independence in 1776, adopted the Constitution in 1787, added the Bill of Rights in 1791, and was clearly recognized as a world power by 1798. In light of world events at that time, (ie. the effects of the French Revolution) no world power other than America qualifies to be the beast. Religious persecution was rampant in Europe, and America was that shinning light on the hill; that bastion of hope for all people seeking freedom…freedom of worship, or just freedom to fulfill their dreams…to be all they could be.
An inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty identifies America’s purpose. It was taken from a sonnet, The New Colossus, written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 and reads: “Give me your tired, your poor; your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore; send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door!” Liberty’s image is one of strength, majesty, and hope, visible in her eternally raised right arm which carries the torch of freedom. Holding aloft a light that never fails, she represents hope to the hopeless, welcome to the poor, and courage to the meek. Facing outward toward the ocean, her lamp is a beacon on stormy seas, drawing to her shores, those from afar who seek a better life. For these, and for countless others who embrace her message, the Statue of Liberty represents the Golden Door. It is the passageway to liberty and freedom from oppression that is the promise of America – a land, a people, a way of life.
For Americans, freedom is our most precious possession. “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the “unalienable rights” which the Declaration says has been given to all human beings by their Creator, and for which governments are created to protect. It is the protection of those rights that have inspired brave men and women to answer the call of their country.
I mentioned earlier a video clip that features my life-long hero, Colonel Arnald Gabriel. I know Colonel Gabriel as the commander of The United States Air Force Band in Washington D.C. but as you will see from the video, in World War II he served as a combat machine gunner with the famed 29th Infantry Division in Europe. On June 6, 1944 he went ashore at Omaha Beach with Easy Company, 116th Infantry, 29th Division. He received two Bronze Star medals, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the French Croix de Guerre. This man, and all who served this great country, are our hero’s today. They ARE why we have the freedoms we all enjoy today.
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My hope and prayer today is that as Americans, we will have the courage to do anything and everything possible to protect our freedoms from enemies both foreign and domestic. As Americans, we must never let the sacrifices of these brave men and women be in vain. I hope you’ll take time today and thank a veteran for their service, then take time to thank God for blessing America. Happy (almost) July 4th… America’s 239th birthday.
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May God Bless ya….
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Thanks Dan for a well written, inspiring blog So wish I could have been at the concert. I always enjoy them
Thanks, Barb. It is always good to have you and Fred there.
Thanks Dan for your heartfelt insight and Biblical knowledge. I am in such awe how you pointed out that God’s blessing connects to everything. Many thanks.
Bless your heart, Cathy. You are so right about God’s blessings. Even in the darkest despair, he wants us to draw closer to Him and he will see us through all of our tribulations. If we abide in Him, his promise is he will abide in us and reward our faithfulness.
As Jesus said to the army office concerning his child that had passed on….”Don’t be afraid; trust me.” The truth is…there is always life after our darkest times if we just keep trusting. He is a faithful God!