America & Ancient Israel Pt 1: The Founding

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.
These are the opening words to the Mayflower Compact, written in 1620, before the pilgrims went ashore. They wanted to make absolute sure, that those involved were to give the glory and the credit to God, for their purpose. A colony, that later would be a nation, that they believed to be founded on the principals of God. Very similar to another nation, a nation that had it's origins with God's divine providence. The nation known as Israel.
“Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, 'This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on my eagles wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:3-6) God was separating Israel from the rest of the world. He was calling forth a nation to be solely unto Him.
The Israelites were the chosen people of God. They had the hand of protection over them. God had chosen the promised land for His people. All they had to do was go into and claim it as theirs. Following a short walk in the wilderness, because of disobedience, they were allowed into the promised land.
After they entered into the promised land, they divided the sections of the promised land into “states” of the nation. Each tribe had it's own territories, all with the laws of God to govern themselves. As long as they remained loyal and obedient to God, they were blessed. When they turned away from God, they were punished. God had founded a nation and had set it aside for Himself.
Later, a few thousand years later, some pilgrims boarded a boat and sailed to the Netherlands. They remained there for a while, before sailing to a new land for a divine purpose. They landed near Cape Cod and drafted a compact. It was the first document these passengers signed, giving the glory to God for getting them to that place, and to help guide them in a new world. The hand of God was upon them.
Not to be without conflict, this colony and a few more were involved in some wars. One special battle was recounted in the diary of one of the commanders.
July 9, 1755.The American Indian chief looked scornfully at the soldiers on the field before him. How foolish to fight as they did, forming battle lines out in the open, standing shoulder to shoulder in their bright red uniforms.The Indian braves fired from under the safe cover of the forest, yet the British soldiers never broke rank. The slaughter at the Monongahela River continued for 2 hours. By then, 1000 British soldiers were killed or wounded, while only 30 French and Indian warriors were injured.Not only were the soldiers foolish, but their officers were just as bad.Riding on horseback, fully exposed above the men on the ground, they made perfect targets. One by one the chief's marksmen shot the mounted British officers until only one remained. Twice this officer's horse was shot out from under him; he just grabbed another horse left idle when a fellow officer had been shot off it and kept going. Ten, twelve, thirteen rounds were fired by the sharpshooters, yet he still remained unharmed.The native officers couldn't believe it. Their rifles seldom missed their mark. The chief came to a realization that a might power was shielding this man. He commanded his men to stop firing at him and said: "This man is under the protection of the Great Spirit...this man was not born to be killed by a bullet." Later that evening, this British officer noticed several bullet holes in his uniform, yet he was unharmed. A few days later he wrote in a letter to his brother: "By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me."
This battle was during the French and Indian War. This British officer, wrote many times in his journal about divine providence and the hand of God. He watched as God was forming a new nation. He felt so strong about the new nation, that he himself led some of the army during the American Revolution. He wrote in his journal about his devotional time, his prayer time, his time spent with God. He knew God was working great wonders in this new nation. When the nation was formed, he helped with the organizing of it. He knew the importance of Christianity in the new nation. He knew the importance of the Bible to the new nation. In one speech he said, “You can not effectively rule a nation without God and the Bible.” In his final speech he talked about national morality in which he called “a necessary spring of popular government” when he said: “Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
Who is this person? A person by the name of General George Washington.

Who Is Jesus

It's Christmas time again. Believers and non-believers tend to focus a little more of their time on Jesus Christ. While some will deny his existance, others will steadfast teach that he actually was born at this time, yet others will say “Jesus is the reason for the season”, and still others will just focus on getting to know him and his love for us.
So, who is Jesus? I could open up my Bible and start typing all the quotes about Jesus, but then, as John wrote, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25 NIV) Or, you can read 98% of the New Testament and get to know who Jesus is. So, I decided to let others tell you: Who is Jesus?


... that people often say about Him: “I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. - C S Lewis.

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophest had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. -Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews Book 18 chapter 3)

The divinity of Christ should never be questioned. The divinity of the pope must be questioned. -Voltaire

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. –Napoleon

Jesus cannot be the only way to Heaven. -Oprah Winfrey

I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.--H.G. Wells

Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: "a virgin's womb and an empty tomb". Jesus entered our world through a door marked,"No Entrance" and left through a door marked "No Exit." --Peter Larson

Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. –Blaise Pascal

You cannot go outside of A and Z in the realm of literature; likewise Christ Jesus is First and Last of God's new creation, and all that is in between; you cannot get outside of that. --T. Austin Sparks

The message of Christ is not Christianity. The message of Christ is Christ. --Gary Amirault

God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son. -- Watchman Nee

If I might comprehend Jesus Christ, I could not believe on Him. He would be no greater than myself. Such is my consciousness of sin and inability that I must have a superhuman Saviour. --Daniel Webster

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth. --Henry Morris

I searched through many quotes and tried to get quotes from non-believers as well as believers. These quotations show what is in the hearts of these people, whether it be good or bad towards Jesus. There heart shows the profound effect that Jesus has had on their lives.
Have a blessed and Merry Christmas
Daniel V