Volume 2024: Edition 31
Food for thought: In God We Trust
Hello everyone. We thank you for your love and support for our Church and our family. It has been a difficult year, but we are so blessed and grateful for the growth in our church, the ability to share our messages and newsletters with our viewers, and the strengthening of our church family and our viewers as a congregation and as individuals. We strive to bring encouragement and connection through this newsletter that we will be continuing to post every 1st of the month (sorry it was late this month), so we hope you will continue to learn and grow in God's word with us.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,"
Tomorrow, when our nation goes to the polling sites to place their votes for the next leader of our country, for the next leaders and representatives on the state level, and for new policies and amendments across our great nation; Please Take a moment to pray for our nation. Pray that whatever the outcome may be, that God will Guide our next leaders and keep them safe. Pray that our country remembers that this great nation was founded on the belief and principles that God had left for all mankind.
In our society today, people have forgotten that our country was built on the foundations of God’s laws and commandments. They have forgotten that when the new world was discovered, people of many different nations from across the sea were in search of a new land where they could be free to worship and live.
Yes, many people see this country as a stolen land conquered and taken by bloodshed, but we must remember that this same story has been played out throughout all of mankind. This world has always been in a constant battle for ownership over things that we cannot truly claim because it has been given to us and created by God. God created the sky, waters, and lands we have fought over since the beginning of time, and He is the only one in full control of the world we live in.
Our Lord has a plan for every nation, every king, every leader, every person placed in authority, and yes, every individual (you and me). Our creator knows our every thought and every move, so why does man think that Our God does not have His hand in how our nation is formed and the direction it is heading into?
“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.’"
(Acts 17:24-31)
Mankind has always pushed back on its creator. It is seen through every bible story, and it is played out in our daily lives. You can take this year’s 2024 United States political season as the best example of how we push back on our God. You might be asking yourself how can a political season in our nation be compared to pushing back on God?
It is simple. If we as individuals do not pray for God to guide our thoughts, and our ways, and take to heart the values and principles we are taught through His word when we make the decision to elect our new leaders or vote on new amendments; we fail to follow God’s lead and so we push back on our God. We should always go to prayer, ask for guidance, let God be present in our minds, and approach our civil duties with a Godly approach.
This doesn’t just apply to an election but daily life as well. We have to remember as believers in God, that we must always put God first in everything we do and let Him lead the way in every decision we make.
We must go back and remember that our country was founded on religious freedom, but over time has slowly pushed God aside and out of mind because man has always been in rebellion toward his creator. We as a country have taken God almost completely out of our government and out of our schools. We have separated God from our government because man thought that the only way to rule was to rule in two separate mindsets due to a rethinking of our First Amendment right in the constitution back in 1802 from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Danbury Baptist Association about the “wall of separation between church and state”:
“Mr. President
To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist Association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man& his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.[Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorized only to execute their acts, I have refrained from prescribing even those occasional performances of devotion, practiced indeed by the Executive of another nation as the legal head of its church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect.] Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association assurances of my high respect & esteem.
(signed) Thomas JeffersonJan.1.1802.”
(The Library of Congress)
They interpreted that our leaders should be governed by the majority of the people and let that be the rule of the land. That our country should let the people worship the way they want and who they want, without prosecution and free from tyranny. This was the beginning of God slowly being pushed out of our country, and the one true God set aside from our country's decisions all because of one man’s letter.
“Thomas Jefferson believed strongly in religious freedom and the separation of church and state. While President, Jefferson was accused of being a non-believer and an atheist. Jefferson attended church services in the Capitol and on several occasions expressed his beliefs including this letter explaining his constitutional view. “I consider the government of the US. as interdicted by the constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. this results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment, or free exercise of religion, but from those also which reserves to the states the powers not delegated to the US.”
(Exhibition Item 4 Curator Note: The Library of Congress)
“First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
(An excerpt from the Declaration of Independence: The Library of Congress)
From that time on, our government decided to separate God from country. As a result, over time, our nation has grown more and more hostile toward the notion of God and the word of God and has continuously compromised the values and principles we once held close and tight to our hearts. Take for example the current culture we live in: a culture that would rather sell you tarot cards, give you kits for witchcraft and new age practices as “trendy products”, offer hormonal therapy and operations for gender transitioning to minors, blatantly produce satanic and hypersexualized advertisements or shows on “daytime” TV, Normalize Drag queen book readings and shows for children, Encourage “situationships” and promiscuity through the media for teenagers and young adults, and support you for your practice of literally any other religion or belief system as long as it’s not Christianity.
Our founding fathers didn’t intend to take God out of our country but to protect our freedom of religion from our government. Their intention wasn’t to turn our nation away from God but rather to make it so we could worship Him without persecution.
Tomorrow, if you choose to have your voice heard, let God be your voice. Let Him guide your ways and may you heed His word regardless of the political climate our nation is in today.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9)
He knows you completely and He has full control over our lives, our government, our nation, all nations, and everything He has created inside and outside of this world He has given us to inhabit.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
(Psalm 139:1-12)
Remember to hold your values and keep your integrity. To always let God guide your ways. It is easy for us as individuals to let this world guide our way, to let the influences of this world overtake us and bend our values and integrity but stand firm in your beliefs. Remember that our great nation was founded under the beliefs of our creator and that no man can take you away from our God.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
(John 3:16)
Resources:
Jefferson’s Wall of Separation Letter – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net – U.S. Constitution.net
Citation:
Library of Congress, Creating the United States: Bill of Rights Legacy (2008). James H Billington. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/bill-of-rights-legacy.html#obj4.
As this newsletter continues to grow and expand, please don’t be afraid to let us know if you are in need of prayer or support. And feel free to share your stories, your testimony, or just a quick question in the comments section below any of our links. We truly want to hear from you and do what we can to help because we are meant to be here to love, encourage, and support one another.
We are grateful to have you with us as readers, church members, and interested guests and we are always open to any suggestions and volunteers for our website, newsletter, and future activities. We hope to see you at our Sunday service and stay tuned for our coming newsletters and updates at church, at bible study, on Facebook, on our YouTube Channel, on the Wix App, and the website.
Upcoming Events:
Special Prayers:
Pray for the Salazar family and the congregation
Pray for Lucy that the Lord continues to watch over and Protect Her, and that her family is able to have a relationship with the Lord.
Pray for our Newsletter that we can continue to write through the Holy Spirit
Pray for our Pastor and our church that we may be blessed to continue to grow and share the word of God.
Weekly Devotional: Knowing God
"No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying 'know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD."
(Jeremiah 31:34)
In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, God refused to break the covenant He had made with His people. Despite His steadfast Love, though, God's people continued to sin. This presented a problem: how could God fulfill the promises He had made to bless His people when they continually demonstrated their unfaithfulness to Him?
As a part of His great plan, God pledges a new covenant - a work of inner re-creation. As the theologian Alec Motyer writes, "When his people could not rise to the height of his standards, the Lord does not lower his standards to match their ability; he transforms his people."
This new covenant is the purpose and promise of God to regenerate hearts through the blood of the Lord Jesus. He takes our hearts and He makes them the perfect shape -like fitting a piece in a jigsaw puzzle- so that His law becomes a delight in us.
In God's declaration of this new covenant, the verb "know" is key. In the original Hebrew, its meaning is clear from the very beginning in Genesis: the straightforward statement that Adam "knew" his wife and they bore children (Genesis 4:1) demonstrates the level of intimacy it conveys. God is saying that when His people come to an understanding of His love, they won't simply be doing Bible studies at arm's length; they'll be people who truly know Him.
What Jeremiah spoke about in the future tense, we are able to enjoy in the present; for in between his prophecy and our time, the Lord Jesus held up a cup of wine the night before He died and announced, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). By God's grace, you and I may know the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Not only this, but He knows each of our names, individually; and He knows our needs and is committed to our well-being. Jesus bears our names before the Father- and because of all He is and all He's done, those names are written in the Book of Life.
What kind of King is this? The answer is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. Someday, we will see Him face-to-face and understand far more than we do today. But still, today you can go about with the confidence that comes from knowing that you know the God who redeemed you through His Son, who dwells in and works in you by His Spirit, and in whose throne room you will one day stand.
Jeremiah 31:31-40
Begg, Alistair. Truth for Life - Volume 2. The Good Book Company, 1 Oct. 2022.
Verse of the Week:
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand"
(Proverbs 19:21)
Announcements:
The Berthoud Christmas Parade is right around the corner! If you would like to volunteer to help us construct a parade float or help to hand out cookies and hot chocolate on December 7th, please let Pastor Stevie know. We would love any help and ideas!
We are drawing near to winter so our Burrito Sales will be at the Church at 9:00 AM on select Saturdays depending on the weather. Come out and help us in our sale by making a dozen burritos to sell or buying burritos and donating to help us fund the repairs needed to keep our church standing and up to code. For sales dates, look at our event's page or watch for the announcement on our Facebook.
We would love to send out the newsletter personally to every member as well as pray for and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries together as a church family. We are asking for all of our members to send their birth date, anniversary date, and email to 303-916-3950 or to the church email. You could also write it down on our paper before or after services.
Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com or call (720)466-0951
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