By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas 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--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be--That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York
the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Pres. George Washington
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. (Hebrews 13:8-9; ESV)
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:10-11;NIV)
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:27; NIV)
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But I have to confess, I’ve gotten into Leviticus in my current reading and have gotten instantly bogged down. I started praying for the Holy Spirit to guide my studies and lead me to understanding of what in the world these Levitical laws have to do with anything. And guess what? The next day I stopped by the Magnolia Library, just aimlessly browsing, and on the discard shelf I found a set of bible commentaries on a variety of the books of the Bible. I bought eight bible commentaries, including Leviticus, for 25 cents apiece. That might sound sort of trite, but it sure seemed like providence to me.
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Anyway, I’m still working through Leviticus and I’m still bogged down but I’m going on the assumption that everything in the Bible is relevant and timely to me today and that everything in the Bible serves to give me a clearer picture of Jesus Christ.
I have been studying the concept of worldviews and I am asking persons from all walks of life the question: “What is the purpose of life?” You have always been somewhat of an enigma to me. So I would be interested in how you would answer this question.
ooh! I know the "right" answer because this is the first question in our catechism (shorter westminster) that we're taught as kids. Yay me, I'm Presbyterian! ;-)
Q: What is the Chief end of man?
A: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
Maybe the reason I'm an enigma is because my life is often not behaviorally congruent with that. I'm not always in the Christian mode, but I'm getting better. I think folks that gripe about Christians being hypocrites dont understand that justification is instantaneous but sanctification takes a lifetime. I'm justified ("saved" to you Baptist folks) but God is still working on me. Maybe if I was smitten like Saul was on the road to Damascus (or was that Emmaus?) anyway, maybe then I could be justified and sanctified pretty near the same time, though Paul still accounted himself the "worst of sinners" even after his conversion.
As for worldview, I've had a pretty smart athiest complain to me that the "Christian worldview" doesn't make sense because there is no single, unified set of beliefs that you could call a "Christian worldview." Each Christian or sect of Christians appear to him to have widely divergent beliefs. I don't buy that. I'm sort of in the C.S. Lewis 'Mere Christianity' camp on that one. That is, there are a set of core beliefs that nearly every Christian has no problem confessing. Often individuals differ in how they understand the details, but like the Pareto principle, some 80+% of folks hold some 20% of the doctrine in common.
Worldview seems to really come down to how we behave in response to what we say we believe. If you take that core of what Christians believe in common, what does that tell you (or necessisarily infer) about how the world works and how we should behave in the world. That's the Christian worldview.
I think I'll post this to my blog (with the names removed to protect the innocent)
...I appreciate you answer and would agree. Again, I go back to Phil 1:6 and the idea that although we are justified at salvation, but sanctification is a lifelong process that requires my attention to the development of a deepening relationship with God.
If you take the principle worldviews that exist out there: biblical, secular, socialist, Islamic, etc. and line them up as to how they answer and deal with basic aspects of life. You will find which make sense and which don’t in terms of their consistency. People often contradict themselves in terms of their belief
How would you explain the term "means of grace" to a non-Presbyterian friend who heard it in a service in the context of the Lord's Supper?
- The Holy Bible
- Prayer
- Baptism
- The Lord's Supper
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.