Ed Martin For Congress » Personal

The “Ground Zero Mosque”

Webmaster — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:10:37 +0000

I have been asked my opinion on the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. I confess that this is a difficult topic for me because I lost a friend when the twin towers fell at the hands of murderers who to a man claimed their incalculably evil act was done in the name of Islam.

That said, it is important to set aside personal feelings in cases that collide with matters of freedom and law. Popular things do not need constitutional protection – it is the unpopular or unfamiliar that need the shield of the bill of rights.

If this were simply the case of adherents to a faith somewhat alien to Americans being harassed, I would side with the building of the mosque and stand foursquare with those who purport to be defending freedom of religion. If there is any component of the bill of rights that deserves a wide berth from the state, it is the freedom to worship without government interference. All faiths without regard to their popularity ought to be able to build a house of worship if they have the desire, means and opportunity.

That’s not what this is.

The Ground Zero Mosque is a spoil of war. I have been to a Muslim house of worship. I have spoken with a Muslim cleric. Anyone with eyes to see could see the difference between a legitimate community of believers pursuing holiness and those who are following a political ideology looking to plant a trophy on the very site of the greatest assault on the West by Islamic Fascists in centuries.

Tens of thousands of Muslims worship and work in America. They are neighbors and friends. Their belief is no affair of mine save that we can all live together in peace. Those who seek to erect a victory monument in New York where our fellow citizens were immolated and crushed by a profoundly wicked strain of Islam do not deserve the cloak of religious freedom that our peaceful Muslim neighbors enjoy and to which they are entitled.

I absolutely oppose the so-called mosque at Ground Zero and believe those who are patting themselves on the back as paragons of religious liberty are either deeply naïve or incredibly cynical. The average American reveres freedom of religion and it would take a mighty provocation for them to oppose a house of worship. This is such a provocation, and we see it clearly for what it is, a thumb in the eye of America that has lead the way for nearly 10 years in beating back a brutal ideology.

Normal Americans know an intentional insult when they see it. One is not a bigot if they have moral clarity and recognize the act of an enemy posing as a friend. I would like to hear such clarity from our political leaders in both affirming freedom of religion and in pointing out in no uncertain terms that this particular group building this particular mosque at ground zero is not an act of faith and healing, but a naked attempt to grind salt into our wounds and provide a rallying point for terrorists all around the world. To stand by idly as the friends of our enemies replace a symbol of American might with a symbol of their might is an act of cowardice, not nobility.

Happy Father’s Day

Webmaster — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:06:42 +0000

I used to think of Father’s Day and other “new” holidays as a consumer-generated “Hallmark” initiative meant to force “celebration” and encourage purchasing by a nation so often filled with sentimental folks. Now that I am a father, I have changed my tune about Father’s day … I still know it’s a Hallmark holiday but I enjoy the day in a way I never could have imagined. Having children changes a lot of things ….

This year, my children made me special Father’s Day cards, let me take a nap on the couch (for just a few minutes before jumping on me!), and set the table for my favorite meal (open faced turkey, mashed potatoes and lots of gravy!). Watching them comport themselves as they usually do in Church, I remembered to thank God for blessing me with them.

Early this week, Carol asked me if I wanted anything for Father’s Day. I surprised myself by saying that I wanted to buy Maddie and Edward fishing poles. This seemed like a great idea – then we could all go and drown worms together (while I like to fish and was taught how by my father, I follow in his example and rarely catch many!). On Saturday, we visited Paul’s Tackle Shop on Chippewa (ShopLocalHireLocal.com!) and bought two rods, two reels and a license for me. The kids were as impressed by the plastic worms as the rods but we are ready for worm-drowning.

Recently, after a long conversation with a friend, I found myself reflecting on the Gospel of John 1:114: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” The Lord, in his generosity to each of us as His children, gave us His Son … but He did so in a special way: this Son was sent down to live and dwell among us. That is, He was part of our lives right here on Earth. The Lord could have infused us with grace in any way He wanted. He could have enlightened us or turned our hearts. Instead, He gave His Son to live and be among us … to be one of us. This was more than just generous as I believe the Lord was teaching us how to be present with one other.

The best celebration of Father’s Day – or most any holiday, it seems to me – is to simply be together. Having the children and my amazing wife around and underfoot this weekend – amidst campaign events, meals, church, or whatever – reminded me that the central mystery of human loving is being together. We model the Creator’s love for us in being together.

This is why the epidemic of children who are left without the presence of their fathers is so terrible. When we look back on the ill-fated “War on Poverty” that began in the 1960s, we see that social engineering that created more dependency on a welfare state also drove families apart. Every man who does not live up to his paternal responsibility has robbed themselves of a wonderful thing. Each of these men, if they understood the depths of their loss, would curse the paternalist government that creates incentives for fatherless children.

A large part of Father’s Day is marking the fathers who are deceased and the sense of loss for their families. I know that my parents, my siblings and I wish we could spend time with my grandfathers, both of whom have long ago faced their maker. I never met my paternal grandfather, a World War II veteran who died nearly a decade before I was born. My maternal grandfather, Phillip, was a dominant part of my life for the first fourteen years. He remains a hero to me; a man whose presence in my life as teacher, friend, and grandfather, is a model for my life today.

On Saturday, I helped my children record a video message for their grandfathers that we emailed to them today. With this email, I wish all fathers, grandfathers, and future fathers a happy father’s day. I pray especially for those fathers who are serving in our Armed Forces and who are away from home.

Finally, to Our Father who art in Heaven, I offer thanksgiving for His creation and especially for His son who dwelt among us.

God, Family, Country – Memorial Day 2010

Webmaster — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:32:01 +0000

For a variety of reasons, I have a special place in my heart for active duty military and for veterans. Among those reasons is the fact that vets have a unique wit about them. We lawyers tend to be circumspect, being officers of the court. That circumspection can become a kind of obscurity in which you can hear many words and not quite know what has been said. Generally veterans do not suffer from this malady. Vets are able to call upon an emotional reservoir that has been distilled by training and hardship. They tend to be direct and plain-spoken. Their passion is not divided or ambiguous, not toward their faith, their family or their nation. They have a raucous cheer about them. It is impossible to hang out with a group of veterans and not be inspired to think or laugh. Usually both.

Sunday I joined local Boy Scouts in ceremonies at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Under the hot sun Boy and Girl Scouts, along with family members and other patriots fanned out to place a single flag on the resting place of the thousands of service men and women interred there.

If you visit the cemetery, pause to read the inscriptions, particularly those made over the last few years. The aforementioned wit and passion is on display even after their earthly lives have ended. One gravestone has a statement of priority: “LOVED GOD LOVED HIS FAMILY AND HIS COUNTRY.” This sentiment encapsulates so much of what I’ve come to know about our veterans.

Spouses of veterans are laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks, and you can find beautiful inscriptions that reflect the lifelong love we who are married aspire to have. Some captions illuminate the fact that Vets don’t take themselves too seriously (click here to see more markers).

We have tremendous freedom in this nation, freedoms that are worth protecting. Each white stone in these cemeteries reserved for our service men and women indicates an individual who put at risk life and limb against the threats to our nation of laws. The countless hours of toil and deprivation endured deserve to be honored on special days to be sure, but each day we must honor them as we make decisions that will affect the lives of those they have left behind.

It is for the children, grandchildren and generations beyond that the heat, cold, hunger, sweat and pain was not too great a burden to bear. Their legacy deserves honor and the purpose of their sacrifice must be fulfilled.

Thanks to our Veterans..

Ed

Memorial Day

Webmaster — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:19:05 +0000

In the early days of this campaign, I was invited to meet with members of the Jefferson Barracks Heritage Foundation. These good people are working to preserve the installation and document its history. In the modest office within the Red Cross Building, these men enthusiastically detailed the history of Jefferson Barracks and the roles it served during American military mobilizations.

They pointed to maps, then pointed out the window then back to the map, or a photo. I followed the narrative that began in 1826 when it was established as an infantry school to compliment training at West Point. As America expanded westward the Army provided law to the new territories, “…not only to protect the settlers from the Indians, but also to protect the Indians from the settlers and from each other.” In time Jefferson Barracks became the staging area from which the Army would project troops to the west. In a few years, it was the largest post in America.

Joe Frank, a wounded Vietnam veteran shared with me stories of the “citizen soldiers” who passed through Jefferson Barracks. Great Generals – Grant, Lee, Eisenhower and others have served and trained in Missouri. Tens of thousands more flowed through Jefferson Barracks, officers and enlisted noted less by history but known to their families as brothers, sisters, sons and daughters to serve as champions of our nation.

The American military is unique in its composition. There is no more refined meritocracy than among America’s armed forces. The British raised regiments and fleets as nobles invested in the men, material and training, receiving payment from the crown or by confiscating property from conquered lands or ships. Other societies populated the ranks of their commissioned officers – such as they are – based on loyalty to party or by selecting closely related kin. In these militaries enlisted members are typically poorly trained, poorly outfitted and poorly cared-for conscripts upon whom the burden of being a soldier falls like a boot on the neck. Pressed into service, these men will oppress as they are oppressed.

In contrast, American officers and enlisted come from all walks of life, all economic strata. Dirt farmers and accountants flooded the beaches of Anzio and Okinawa. Bankers and ranch hands stood in ranks at Appomattox. Physicists and roofers work together on the tarmacs of Diego Garcia and the decks of frigates, destroyers and carriers all over the globe. Their motives vary – being a serviceman is a better gig now than it was in Valley Forge, but every uniformed man and woman knows that it may come upon them to fight. American servicemen are well regarded by their fellow citizens. We see them as our friends and families. We idealize them as protectors of liberty.

My brother is a Marine, and I am very proud of him. I have a Kevlar “pot” of his, and it reeks of the sweat from those hot theaters where he and his comrades close with the enemy. He is smart and driven. He would be a success in anything he chose to do, but he chose the life of low pay and grinding sacrifice in his beloved Corps for his beloved Country. To him and the vets I have had the privilege to meet, service is a privilege and an honor.

Jefferson Barracks is home to a unit of the Missouri National Guard. It is also the final resting place Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Merchant Mariners. Many of them came home after America’s wars and the flag that draped their casket honored an old man or elderly woman whose end came long after their particular conflict ended. Other flags envelop a hero lost in battle, a life cut short when they were the protective wall made flesh when harm threatened their people.

Others still are like Joe, and left part of their life in a distant mud hole. Where his place in Jefferson Barracks will be is not yet known – and may it be unknown for many years – but still he has already given much for his home, and he continues to give.

The gravestones of Jefferson Barracks are so white that on a day with any sun the sheen will hurt your eyes. This is fitting in a sense, that this orderly stone garden where our protectors are laid would by its nature induce an American look for a moment, then look away in honor and reverence.

The Savior taught us that greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for his friends. Memorial day is the day where we ought to commemorate not just the sacrifice, but the greater love of these men and women who carried arms and tended wounds in our service . I find inspiration in the love they had for their comrades and their liberty. My brother loves his men, Joe loved his fellow soldiers and continues to look out for their well-being to this day. Both love their country in a way not many of us experience. I am grateful for them because they have studied war so that my children can live in peace and freedom. My Memorial Day prayer is that I can match their devotion to our country.

God bless you, Veterans. God rest the fallen.

Ed

Happy Mother’s Day

Webmaster — Sun, 09 May 2010 04:21:34 +0000

Though I am a father, and I love it when my children laud me in the way only they can, I am surprised to realize that I look forward to Mother’s day more than Father’s day. I love being “dad” but I am in awe of moms – especially my wife as “mom.”

I have come to appreciate my wife so much. It’s not just the way Carol loves our children, it’s also how she gives life to them figuratively and literally day after day. She showers them with love, tending them with encouragement and direction. Brushed hair, the selection of the perfect band-aid, these are countless drops of compassion rained upon them every day. Though I try to not be the fourth child in the family, when she moves her way down the line and straightens my tie after tidying the kids, I can’t help but be warmed in my spirit.

Each year I more fully realize how I have been blessed with an extraordinary mother. Growing up, I suspect that I was not always an easy son. At school around a holiday like Mother’s Day I made construction paper cards, macaroni and paper plate artwork and popsicle jewelry boxes to my mom’s unmitigated delight. I also got into trouble in ways that made my mother crazy. In spite of whatever trouble I caused, she blessed me with her kisses and hugs no matter what I did. She was always my mom and I was always her much loved son.

When a young adult, I graduated to sending Hallmark cards to my mom (occasionally purchased a little bit late, occasionally arriving on Mother’s Day Monday or Mother’s Day Tuesday. Sorry, mom). Young men wander away for a season, but my mom’s love never wavered. I knew it was always there.

Now that I am a father and I see firsthand the hard work involved in being a mother through my wife, Mother’s Day is far more meaningful. My wife has single handedly taught me how great a challenge mothering is, and how precious are our great mothers.

As our kids were born – a blessing, each and each so different – I marveled at the flexibility, acuity and patience the job of being a mom requires. I like to think of Carol and I as a team in our family, but I think that even as we complement each other she does so much more. After all, she’s their mom.

So much of what they do, my mother and my wife in her role as mother, informs me as a man. There are subtle cues that mothers pick up and rebroadcast to those around them. My mom could tell my stress level, and with a glance or a word help modulate the reactions of my family. My wife sensitizes me to my children, directing my attention and helping me meet the children’s needs to greater effect. Both women have made me a better man and a better father by far.

Proverbs 31 describes the “virtuous woman”. Near the end, it says this about her:

Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
“Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”

My family will celebrate Mother’s day, and when we bow our heads we will say a prayer of thanks for the mothers in our lives. I’ll offer a prayer for all mothers who serve as a channel through which our Savior pours His love on us.

Mom, bless you. Carol, you excel them all.

Happy Mother’s Day

Ed

Happy Birthday Harry Truman

Webmaster — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:41:41 +0000

May 8th is Harry Truman’s birthday. Harry Truman was Missouri’s favorite son president from Independence. He is among my favorite political figures for a variety of reasons. “Give ‘em Hell, Harry” was a resolute warrior, closing out World War II decisively after the loss of his predecessor. Truman took threats posed by Communist nations seriously and gave us two of the most fruitful leadership insights in history.

“The buck stops here” may be the most essentially American statement on leadership. Truman was not satisfied to lay his troubles at the feet of those he lead or those who preceded him. I believe that Truman’s aphorism was not just a statement of fact, but a personal challenge. All others could pass the buck, but he would not indulge the impulse.

Photos of Harry Truman are remarkable. A review of LIFE magazine’s online photo archive reveals dozens of candid shots of President Truman. Rarely is he not smiling, and even when he is posing for a more formal photo or painting, I perceive that he is scarcely able to contain his Midwestern optimism.

Truman was not thought of very highly by the political class at the time, but he proved to be a force to be reckoned with. So much so that, according to a letter he wrote to a correspondent, the Republicans kept an eye on him even after he was out of office.

The letter containing this cryptic mention of the watchful GOP was purchased by my father. He gave it to me as a gift as it mentions “our friend Ed Martin”, a Pennsylvania Senator from that era.

Take a look, I hope you find it as interesting as I do. And remember, Ed Martin is a friend of Harry Truman.

Ed Martin Makes History with Support from Democratic President

Webmaster — Thu, 06 May 2010 20:07:33 +0000

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Theresa Petry, (314) 807-7077

Hopes that, “…everything will go well with him.”

(ST. LOUIS, MO) May 6, 2010 –Tomorrow is the day we observe President Harry S. Truman’s birthday. In honor of it we wanted to share some words from one of America’s most quoted Presidents of all time. Hanging framed on the wall in the Ed Martin for Congress campaign headquarters you will find an authentic letter from President Truman. In the typed note on personalized letterhead you will see the following; “You tell Ed Martin I sincerely hope that everything will go well for him.” While President Truman clearly supports Ed Martin he goes on to say, “I am sorry I can’t send you the check you asked for – for the very simple reason that the Republican administration checks me up in every way possible and I’m afraid it might be embarrassing to our good friend Martin.”

Simple chronological events, makes it obvious President Truman, who passed away in 1972, was not in fact referring to Missouri’s 3rd district congressional candidate, Ed Martin. However he does share some similarities with the man Truman was in fact referring to- Senator Ed Martin of Pennsylvania. Senator Martin was also an American lawyer and Republican party politician.

This wonderfully preserved piece of history was discovered and purchased by congressional candidate Ed Martin’s father. The letter dated November 9, 1960 was sent to a Mr. James Murphy of the Dunn-Mar Oil and Gas Company located in Washington, Pennsylvania. It was mailed from Independence, Missouri seven years after Truman left the White House. Ironically the original envelope bears Truman’s frank – yes a Democrat taking full advantage of frank mail.

This documented piece of history from our 33rd President has traveled through many hands and is now proudly displayed in congressional candidate Ed Martin’s campaign headquarters in St. Louis.

If President Truman were alive today we venture to say he just might support yet another Republican attorney named Ed Martin.

For more information about Martin’s background and the campaign, visit EdMartinforCongress.com, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ed4congress.

Theresa Petry
Press Secretary
“Ed Martin for Congress”
(314) 807-7077 (cell)

theresa.petry@edmartinforcongress.com
www.edmartinforcongress.com

Happy Easter

Webmaster — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:08:23 +0000

On Good Friday Christians pause to consider the sin that put the Savior in the grave. On Easter we rejoice in the grace that could not be contained by a tomb of any dimension nor a stone of any size. This year I have been dwelling on the implications of Good Friday.

Christians believe that Christ was God in the flesh. Our creeds state that He lived a perfect life and was falsely accused of crimes punishable by death. We believe his death at the hands of secular and religious leaders is a substitute for the death for the sins of humanity. We believe that Christ rose from the dead after three days, just as the apostles said and that He lives today. We believe that He offers eternal life to all who will trust in His grace.

Generally, it is beyond the role of a man running for secular office to lecture on religious matters. One’s faith is a private matter, and I defend the freedom of one’s conscience to believe whatever they may spiritually – or to not believe at all. My point is to share part of what informs my thinking about the role of the Constitution.

That God’s only Son died for my sins is humbling. I am keenly aware that my sin put Jesus on the cross. His love kept him from calling upon the legions of heaven to rescue and avenge Him.

The United States Constitution is a document written by people who accepted the fallen nature of man. They recognized that carefully bridled power could do great good, and unbridled power could do great harm. Our Constitution is submissive to limits and accountability. This reflects an appropriately melancholy view of human nature, a view for which history provides ample evidence.

Lincoln said “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” This is unquestionably true, and it was well understood by our political leaders. It wasn’t until late in the 19th and early 20th century that the notion that man could somehow be perfected crept into the popular thinking of Americans. Religious and secular leaders began to suppose that regeneration could come from without by secular forces rather than from within by the divine.

Progressives mistakenly believe that handing over individual liberties in exchange for collective liberties will create a better society. These dubious “positive rights” are always at the expense of someone’s individual liberties. The “freedom from” style liberties are always defined and doled out by a central elite to those whom they favor, and come at great cost to others.

We cannot have collective liberty any more than we can have collective redemption. Drawing understanding from Christian theology – though the Savior paid for our sins collectively, our faith is individual. God in his wisdom did not put redemption upon us all. Redemption is offered only to those who consent to being redeemed.

This is one among many reasons I recoil from efforts to steal individual liberties in exchange for “collective” liberties. Certainly liberty is a condition filled with its own troubles and woes. Trouble and strife among free people will make accepting this terrible barter a powerful temptation. Liberty has as its critical merit that it is so much better than everything else.

The story of sin and redemption, death and resurrection tells me that even though the work of God may have begun in a man, no man is perfect while he lives. Between the day of faith and the day God exchanges the corruptible for the incorruptible, we are always subject to temptations.

The bottom line is that I am loyal to the Constitution because the story of Easter reminds me that I will never be good enough to govern without the consent of the governed. I further state that nobody else is sufficiently angelic. Such self-appointed angels must be vigorously resisted.

The Constitution is a clear contract between authority and the governed. The government has an absolute obligation to honor the spirit and letter of that compact.

Our progressive friends are tragically deluded about the capacity of man to yield enough liberty to create a perfect society. It is not possible. All we can do is balance the interests of imperfect people and guard that balance with humility. Though we will inevitably be frustrated as hurly-burly liberty yields uneven results we must comfort ourselves knowing that all efforts based on control, coercion and dominance are doomed to make people miserable.

I will always represent your interests so as to increase your individual liberty. I won’t quietly tolerate the government doing what a righteous and all-powerful God would not. Should you seek redemption I will seek to protect your individual right to peacefully find it. I further ask for your prayers that I will never be deluded about my own nature.

Thank you and God bless you all. He is Risen!

Ed

Ed Martin Invocation at Lincoln Days, Feb 26, 2010

Webmaster — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:45:16 +0000

One of the more amazing parts of this campaign has been to make new friends and to realize that these new friends believe in me and our campaign. It is humbling and feels even a little scary – it’s a lot of pressure in some ways. One new friend is Pastor Bruce McCoy. Pastor McCoy is a hard-working Baptist pastor in south St. Louis County who is helping me. (In fact, he was the first “public” person to endorse me!). He is a good and holy man who I admire and who gives me good counsel.

When I was asked to give the Invocation, I thought of Pastor McCoy – I figured he could give me some tips. I went to read some of his words and came upon his speech/invocation from the Glenn Beck event a few weeks ago. I decided to use it. Here it is with my minor adaptations.

Thanks.
Ed

Ed Martin Invocation at Lincoln Days, February 26, 2010 (as prepared)

Tonight, it is my privilege to lead us in prayer. Some among you – Lloyd Smith to name a name! – have expressed concern that I might talk off topic and say, discuss my Twitter feed @ed4congress or my facebook fan page facebook.com/edmartinforcongress.

I will not do this. Instead, I prefer to read to you a prayer given by my dear friend, Pastor Bruce McCoy of Caanan Baptist Church in south St. Louis County. Pastor McCoy, the President of the Missouri Baptist Convention is a friend and support of my campaign … (pause) … you can find out more about what interests him in my campaign at www.EdMartinforCongress.com.

Here is my adaptation of Pastor McCoy’s prayer which was somewhat longer in its original.

Bruce’s Speech and Prayer: at Glenn Beck Rally, held by Constitutional Coalition, 2-5-10.

In the summer of 1776 – 56 men met together in Philadelphia – to sign a new document. That parchment was to stand forever as a partnership between the living, the dead and the yet unborn. We call it: The Declaration of Independence. Those men considered liberty so much more important than security – they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They fulfilled their pledge; they paid the price; and freedom was born! (adapted from friend, Derrick Johnson.)

Our Founding Fathers wrote into the Declaration of Independence that majestic reference to “our Creator” with the certainty that, someday, they would meet their Maker.

They openly acknowledged God. And, they knew that God, not government, is the Giver of our freedom. What God has given, no man has the right to take away. As both a religious leader and a concerned citizen, I do not suggest a Church-run state or a state-run Church. But, banning the public acknowledgment of God is a tyranny “foreign” to our Founding Fathers and risks forfeiting the blessing of the Almighty!

I am the son of a WWII veteran who suffered as a P.O.W. in Nazi Germany. My dad, 88 – taught me to be proud of our nation. And now – we look into the deep of a new darkness that requires each of us to shine the light of Liberty on the neglected pages of our Constitution.

One of the things I admire about Glenn Beck is that he does not view the United States’ Constitution in the light of our times, but rather, he seems to view our times in the light of our Constitution. Most of us here tonight probably agree that our nation has strayed from the Original Intent of our Founding Fathers.

In the same way, I stand before you as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as one who does not view the Bible in the light of our times, but rather, I view our times in the light of the Bible. And, “all we like sheep have gone astray…” We have strayed from the Original Intent of God’s plan for us.

Our Founding Fathers understood the fallen nature of humanity. So, they crafted the “checks and balances” within our three branches of government. The Bible tells us, what they knew well, that “All of have sinned….” (Rm. 3:23) We say it this way, “Nobody is perfect.”

The Bible is filled with prophecies that describe the Things to Come. God’s Word tells us how to be prepared for the future. I am going to ask you to consider for a brief moment – the Original Intent of “Our Creator” – Who…sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins.

Prayer: Before I pray – listen to the Words of Jesus Christ:

“For God so loved the world (that’s people…you & me) That He gave (that’s free) His only Son (that’s Jesus Christ) That whosoever (that’s anybody) Believes in Him (that’s faith) Should not perish (that’s mercy – being saved from eternal hell) But have everlasting life (that’s the favor of God; He wants us to live with Him – forever).

“Lord God, please restore this nation to become again – that “shining city set on a hill.” Restore us to the Original Intent of our Founding Fathers. And then, individually, restore us, as we repent of our own sin, to You, the God of our Fathers. Restore us to the Original Intent of Your plan for the future of our soul. That if we will confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord – we will be forgiven. Have mercy on us, Lord. And may the truth of the Gospel of God continue – to go marching on!”

Lord, bless this food, those who prepared it and those who will do without tonight.

And I am careful to pray this prayer in the Name of my Lord: Jesus Christ.

Amen!

A Prayer for Afghanistan

Webmaster — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:32:19 +0000

Heavenly Father, hear the prayer of your servant.

Our warriors are engaged in battle against a grave evil far away in Afghanistan. By air, land and sea they have assembled to wage war against an intractable and wicked enemy who shows neither mercy nor concern for the innocent.

You are the God who carries the ensign before the righteous. Go before our warriors, Lord of heaven. Let those who would do evil in your sight fall before you. Protect the innocent from harm. Confound the wicked so that their end would come swiftly.

You know Lord the hazards and trials our men and women will face. Strengthen them and give them courage in the awful hour when they are called upon to fight. I ask your grace upon our soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors so that they may act with honor and in accordance with your will.

Father I ask your grace upon our fighting men and women in the hardships to come.

I pray God that peace would come soon. You are the God that heals, and I ask that your gracious hand will come upon the battlefield when conflict ends. Restore the land of Afghanistan. Bring peace between brothers at war’s end.

Watch over the families at home. Our loved ones are never far from our thoughts as they serve overseas. Give us strength and wisdom in the long days ahead when our friends and family are in harm’s way. I pray that your Spirit of All Comfort would be with the families of those who fall in your service. I ask for grace for the fallen and that they would find peace and comfort in your holy kingdom.

Finally Father, make us all wise so that the sacrifices of the quick and the dead are not in vain, that your good work would prevail and that this nation would be protected and be a beacon of Your Grace to all the world.

I ask this humbly Father, on the authority of Your Son Jesus Christ. In His name let it be so.